FOR HE WHO HAS EYES TO SEE
Penny Tucci
We are living in a day and time of political and governmental chaos, division, and fear. The battle lines have been drawn with a vengeance. To many it seems like the darkest of days. I have a different take on all that is happening around us.
From my youngest days, I have had a love for all things America. I’ve loved hearing about and studying our history. After I became a Christian, I delved into all the resources that point to the clear foundation that we, as a nation, were founded for a peculiar purpose and mandate. Everywhere I looked I found evidence that our founders had not only called upon God for help during every major event, but that they also believed our system of government and our laws should be based on the Bible (or natural law). They highly respected and held to the writings of Sir William Blackstone, an English judge, member of Parliament, and professor. He said, “Man ... must necessarily be subject to the laws of his Creator...This will of his Maker is called the law of nature....This law of nature...is of course superior to any other....No human laws are of any validity, if contrary to this: and such of them as are valid derive all their force...from this original."
For much of our 250+ years as an official nation, and even before that, it was understood that we were a nation of laws that were based on God’s Word, and people fundamentally believed that God’s wisdom and truth were our guiding light. Moral absolutes were assumed by everyone. It was not only assumed that we were a Christian nation, it was expressed publicly by not only our leaders from the 1776 era, but those that followed.
“The general principles on which the fathers achieve independence were...the general principles of Christianity.” --John Adams
“[T]he teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally...impossible for us to figure to ourselves what that life would be if these teachings were removed.” --Teddy Roosevelt
“American was born a Christian nation--America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture.” --Woodrow Wilson
“American life is builded, and can alone survive, upon…[the] fundamental philosophy announced by the Savior nineteen centuries ago.” --Herbert Hoover
“This is a Christian Nation.” --Harry Truman
“I believe with all my heart that standing up for America means standing up for the God who has so blessed our land. We need God's help to guide our nation through stormy seas. But we can't expect Him to protect America in a crisis if we just leave Him over on the shelf in our day-to-day living.” --Ronald Reagan
From the statements made by Christopher Columbus, referring to his planned trip to discover the Indies (which turned out to be America), “I found our Lord well disposed toward my heart’s desire and He gave me the spirit of intelligence for the task…who doubts that this illumination was from the Holy Spirit? He, with marvelous rays of light, consoled me though the holy and sacred scriptures, a strong and clear testimony…encouraging me to proceed and, continually, without ceasing for a moment, they inflame me with a sense of great urgency.”
...To the mottos and vision statements for Yale (Light and Truth with picture of Bible), Harvard (For Christ and the Church), and Princeton (Under God’s Power She Flourishes)...
…To the tip of the Washington Monument, which reads “Praise be to God” and our coins and bills and congressional chamber, which say “In God we Trust”… and Moses holding the Ten Commandments tablets on the Supreme Court building, and so, so many more…
There is a profound and clear touch and call of God on this nation. It is not imagined or a conjured up idea of a radical right wing religious cult. It is engraved throughout every chapter of our history that God birthed this nation for His own purpose. In front of the National Archives Building, a plaque reads “The heritage of the past is the seed that brings forth the harvest of the future.” We cannot forget what we were built upon, nor can we forget to teach it to others in our sphere of influence.
Although we have seen major setbacks to this purpose and have watched much of the sacred beliefs we have held to erode, at this time in history we are seeing a battle of epic proportions for our call to live “For Christ and the Church” and to see His Word established again as the guiding force in our laws and our actions.
There are evil forces that have unleashed everything in their arsenal to strike a final blow to destroy this undeniable mandate. But I believe that God has taken His sword from its sheath and is fighting for His righteousness to prevail. The battle is chaotic; the battle is fierce; the battle is relentless, but it is at hand!
Over the last many years, I have felt a sense of apathy, even surrender, over what would become of us as a nation. Now, I see all-out war, and I am encouraged by the battle! I see a fight for the lives of babies in the womb. I see a fight for Christianity and religious, biblical thought to be central again. I see a fight for pastors and ministers to have a powerful voice in the public arena, rather than marginalized. I see a fight for moral absolutes to be considered again. I see a fight for an awakening and a revival to be released in our midst!
Before we let ourselves be carried into the stream of thinking that says, “We are beyond help, and all is lost,” let’s have eyes to see what is going on in the midst of the battle. God is fighting for us and with us! People all over this land are declaring truth and are no longer willing to stand in the wings and quietly hope for some deliverance to fall from above without their participation. People are fighting alongside their God in a war to see a radical change in the spiritual atmosphere.