Ephesians 3:17-19 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
Colossians 2:6-7 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”
Ephesians 4:14 “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”
As America was getting prepared for a looming World War II, President Roosevelt set some ambitious goals for improvements in industrial production. When Adolf Hitler heard about these milestones, he discounted the capabilities of the American industrial machine. In fact, he responded to our goals with the following: “What is America but beauty queens, millionaires, stupid records, and Hollywood?” (Freedom’s Forge, pg. 13)
May we never be simply a country of beauty queens. May we never be just a land of millionaires. May we never be known only as the producer of stupid records. May we never be defined by being the home of Hollywood.
We need breadth, length, depth and height. We need to be rooted and grounded and built up in Christ and his love. We need to be stablished in the faith. We need to abound therein with thanksgiving. Otherwise, we will be tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, by cunning craftiness, and by those who are waiting to deceive us.
Hitler may have been right, but when the crisis of world war came, we snapped back to our foundational source of strength. May it not require a crisis to snap us back to our foundational source of strength today.
PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICA TO REST ON A FIRM FOUNDATION OF FAITH, WHETHER IN GOOD TIMES OR IN BAD TIMES. May America be known not for its beauty queens, millionaires, stupid records, and Hollywood, but by our stunning foundation that produces lives that are rooted and grounded in love.
