Abraham Lincoln once said of our country in 1863:
"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven;
we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity;
we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation
has ever grown. But we have forgotten God.... We have become too
proud to pray to the God that made us."
Although our nation had accomplished a lot of things, what one thing had our nation forgotten to do? How long ago has it been since 1863? Since then has our country drawn closer to God or farther away?
One of our Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson,
wrote about the foolishness of abandoning God two years before writing the Declaration of Independence:
"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be
thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction
in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they
are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country
when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever."
What concern did Thomas Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers have about our country? (
That we would abandon our faith in God and that God's righteous justice would punish America.)
It is very hard to do what is right when a group of your friends want to do what is wrong. It is also hard to do what is right when the people in our country are moving farther away from God.
Read God's warning of justice for every person in
Ecclesiastes 12:14.
"For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every
secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
The Bible warns that He watches everything we think, say and do. He knows what we do in public and He knows what we do when no one is watching.
In the same way that God warns people of His justice, He also warns nations. God wants every nation to be moral and righteous. For example, God promised to bless nations that are a blessing to the nation of Israel and to punish those nations that are unjust towards Israel (
Genesis 12:1-3).
Just like Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson, we should be concerned when our nation turns away from God and His Word. However, God was willing to not destroy a nation that rejected Him, if only ten righteous people could be found (
Genesis 18:32). God is always fair and just to His people. Could it be that God would spare our nation from judgment if there were a small group of believers living for Him?
How does your answer to that question encourage you to be a faithful Christian even if it seems you are the only one doing what is right?
Read God's promise to remember and reward any act of love done for Him and others.
"For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love,
which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered
to the saints, and do minister." (
Hebrews 6:10
)
Because God is just, He cannot do anything that is unfair. This can be both a comfort and a warning. We are comforted that we will always be treated fairly. However, it is a warning to those who think they can get away with sin. There are consequences for our actions, for individuals and for nations.
WHY DOES THIS MATTER:
Because God is Just, He wants me to always do what's right, and do it in love!
TAKING ACTION:
Ask God to help you do what's right and to do it in love. If you are afraid, ask God for courage.
