Author: John Page 157 of 167

Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not:  for it was founded upon a rock.”

This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin made news by conducting foreign policy via an op-ed in The New York Times.  In the midst of an opinion piece oozing with hypocrisy and errantly equating individual equality in God’s eyes with equality among institutions, Putin made a bold assertion not supported by history – America is unexceptional.  Alexis de Tocqueville would disagree:

“I have expressed enough to characterize Anglo-American civilization in its true colors.  This civilization is the result (and this is something we must always bear in mind) of two quite distinct ingredients which anywhere else have often ended in war, but which Americans have succeeded somehow to meld together in wondrous harmony; namely the spirit of religion and the spirit of liberty.”

While de Tocqueville saw these concepts at cross-purposes in his European homeland, he saw them “intimately linked together in joint reign over the same land” in America.  To him, this harmony and the land that enjoyed it was truly exceptional.

Importantly, the source of our exceptionalism is more fundamental than even these concepts.  It comes from two foundations, one built upon another.  The first is the foundation of the universe, the Lord Himself.  We can be exceptional as a nation only as much as we are a reflection of Him as individual citizens and as a society.  The second is the foundation of the nation, the US Constitution.  When the Constitutional Convention ended 226 years ago this week, on September 17, 1787, the Founding Fathers had created a foundational document that enshrined Biblical principles and translated them into a governmental structure.  These two foundations are exceptional in their own right, allowing America to be exceptional as well.

Sadly though, Putin may be partially right for a reason that would be foreign to him.  It’s not that exceptionalism is errant and dangerous, but that it is waning in America.  Indeed, it is waning because we have drifted from our exceptional foundations.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICA WOULD RETURN TO THE EXCEPTIONAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE LORD AND THE CONSTITUTION.  As the wise man builds his house upon a steady foundation, so too would a wise and exceptional nation hold tight to its steady foundation.  Anything else would be unexceptional.  It will fail when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow.

Matthew 22:36-40 “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Alexis de Tocqueville recognized America as a unique nation that had placed these Biblical priorities into action.  Nineteenth Century Americans were motived by their love of God so that they loved others.  They used their freedoms to develop community not contention.  They used their freedoms to extend a hand of help instead of grasping for personal excess.  They used their freedoms to build institutions instead of destroying them.

“In the United States, therefore, it was never intended for a man in a free country to have the right to do anything he liked; rather, social duties were imposed upon him more various than anywhere else.”

“I must say that I have seen Americans making great and sincere sacrifices for the common good and a hundred times I have noticed that, when needs be, they almost always gave each other faithful support.”

The America so admired by de Tocqueville was the result of Christian principles that guided priorities away from selfishness and towards the Supreme and society.  These priorities manifested themselves in a nation that was a model for others to follow.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD PROPERLY PRIORITIZE GOD AND OTHERS OVER OURSELVES.  Faithful support of others and sincere sacrifices, as a part of our social duties, can produce the common good for our nation that we so desperately need.

Psalm 144:15 “Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.”

Alexis de Tocqueville, the French historian and political philosopher, marveled at the United States he observed first-hand in the middle of the 19^th Century.  It was a nation characterized by Christianity and citizenship, duty and devotion, freedom and forward-thinking.  It was a nation that had uniquely combined Christian principles into its core fabric, and was prospering in an amazing and fantastic way.

As described in Democracy in America, de Tocqueville saw the “triumph of an idea” in action.

“Christianity has therefore maintained a strong sway over the American mind and – something I wish to note above all – it rules not only like a philosophy taken up after evaluation but like a religion believed without discussion.”

“It is religion which has given birth to Anglo-American societies: one must never lose sight of that; in the United States, religion is thus intimately linked to all national habits and all the emotions which one’s native country arouses; that gives it a particular strength.”

Christianity of days past in America was treated with conviction and not just as a waning cultural artifact.  As a result, it impacted the national spirit and produced peace and prosperity.  It also produced a harmonious, helpful, and happy society.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD ALLOW OUR CONVICTIONS TO HAVE A STRONG SWAY OVER OUR LIVES.  We need the particular strength of a society whose God is the Lord.

Colossians 3:2 “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Exodus 20:3 “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

As I briefly mentioned in my previous post, my son got saved last week.  Though he is young, it became clear that he was ready to accept Christ based on a laser-like focus on his need for salvation.  Indeed, when he met us early Saturday with a Bible in his hand and a determined look on his face, his conviction was undeniable.  His affection was undoubtedly on things above.

American Christians have allowed so many things to crowd out the Lord as the preeminent object of our attention and affection.  Clamoring demands have damped our convictions.  While we may not admit it, idols are as prevalent today as the molten images of days past.  Sometimes they come in the form of fame, wealth, popularity, and promotion.  Sometimes they come in the form of possessions, raises, awards, and accolades.  They can entrap us as a part of our lives at school or at home; they can tempt us in our workplaces or our neighborhoods.  They can even ensnare us as a part of our families or our ministries.

Some are obvious, while some are insidious.  They become apparent based on the allocation of our time, our money, and our energy.  They are often evident by a glance at our day planners or our budgets.  They are always evident to the Lord by a glace at our hearts.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD PURGE MODERN-DAY IDOLS FROM OUR LIVES.  As God’s children, whether newly saved or seasoned Christians, our affection should never be set on the things of this earth.  Instead, it should rightfully be on things above.

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right had of the throne of God.”

My son Noah, who got saved last week (more on this in my next post), learned how to ride his bike without training wheels a few months ago.  As compared to my other children, teaching him was easy.  The only minor pitfall during the process was the day of the week we chose to make the no-training-wheel leap.  It was trash pickup day, with large green garbage cans looming on the side of the road; these out-of-the-way obstacles captured Noah’s attention.  In fact, his one problem was that he was so worried about the garbage cans that he looked at them as he rode.  Sure enough, looking at them caused him to steer towards them and he ran into several as a result.  These garbage can mishaps were caused by failing to look where he wanted to go, and instead looking where he did not want to go.

In life, looking anywhere other than towards Jesus will cause us to diverge from Him.  This divergence based on our gaze may not be towards something as filthy as a garbage can, but anything that captures our primary attention other than the Lord will weigh us down in our Christian race.  Indeed, American Christians have been captivated by everything but the Lord, causing us repeated mishaps that have diminished the effectiveness of our collective testimonies.  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD TRULY MAKE THE LORD THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF OUR ATTENTION.  If we want our race to be effective, we must do so.  Otherwise, we will continue to be garbage can casualties.