A Nation of Hope, Pt.1

For some time, I have felt a despondency when I think about the state our country is in. Things just seem to be getting worse; Moral decay rampant all over the place, hidden agendas in the upper reaches of government, blatant lies from those in high office, economic woes, the highest unemployment rates in years, gas prices nearing five dollars a gallon (at least here in California!)...the list goes on. What a legacy to leave to our children. It can be depressing, and it is hard to see a way out of it. Because of these things, when I happened upon this book on Amazon, I was immediately intrigued by the title, and decided to purchase it, in hopes that, well, there really is hope for my beloved United States of America! "

I was not disappointed. There are very few books that move me to tears, because I generally avoid such books, but this was one of them. They were happy tears, tears of gratitude for our country, and for a loving God who cares about America. The book went through seven miracles, indicating that God's hand has, indeed been manifest in the creation and preservation of our country. The stories portrayed were truly...amazing. That's all I can say about them. My favorite part, though, was the conclusion; why we really can have hope. I don't really want to give too much of a spoiler, but this is one of my favorite parts of the conclusion.

A person might ask, by what right do any people claim that God would select a particular people or country for special blessing? It is important to understand that He accomplishes this not my diminishing other nations, but by lifting a nation up. And if He raises up a nation, it is with the expectation that that nation will then lift up others.

In other words, we have a duty and responsibility to be a light to the world, and bring help and hope to those in need. I have many pages turned down at the corners, indicating places of quotes I liked, but one other emphasis I appreciated in the concluding chapter was that on virtue. The authors had quotes from James Madison, John Adams, Ben Franklin, and George Washington, among others, that basically all said the same thing;

Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other...to suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people is a chimerical idea.

A nation can not live in freedom and liberty unless it is populated by a moral and virtuous people.

I guess to tie this all together, we can have hope, because most of our neighbors, coworkers, and friends, are good, decent, God-fearing people, who are trying to do the right thing.  We can have hope because God still needs our country to be a blessing to other countries throughout the world, and as such, we can pray for and expect his hand to still be in our affairs.  From a gospel perspective, we can have hope because God has promised that his gospel will go throughout all the world, and America still provides the majority of missionaries to do that task.

God bless America!