I took this photo of my first graders on our field trip to the pumpkin patch a few years ago. They didn't know I was taking the picture, which is my favorite part about it. These three boys are different in just about every sense of the word -- different races; different socio-economic backgrounds; with different definitions of the word "family". One has a Mom and a Dad, one just a Mom, and one only a Dad and his Grandmother. But, in this moment, they shared one thing in common - their friendship. I keep this picture on my desk to remind myself of why I do what I do every day. But recently, I realized these boys can serve as a much bigger reminder: how we should move forward as a nation.
I started writing this post right after the election. Then I read some of the posts on social media... so, I decided to let the dust settle.
This will not be a post about politics. (I've had about all I can take.) But I still wanted to share this because I think it's important we don't lose sight of this -- it does not matter who is sitting in the White House; it does matter who we look to for direction, and (in turn) how we treat each other.
After reading some of the upsetting things on social media following the election, I was reminded of something else I read not long ago. Soon after Blaine and I were married, I picked up a book by Charles Swindoll called, Marriage - From Surviving to Thriving
In the book, Swindoll talks about a lot of factors that can effect marriage (and the family). Even if you're not married, it's worth reading. I dug this book up again and fished through the pages to find this excerpt that I think fits perfectly to where we are now as a nation:
With all this talk of change, we need to focus our attention on some unchanging truths - things that haven't changed.
First, the heart of humanity hasn't changed. You and I are, by birth, by nature, and by choice, inwardly depraved, which is to say that we are entirely corrupt. That's not to say that we have no good in us; we do. However.... without the redeeming power of Christ we cannot halt our own moral side. Only the power of the Holy Spirit working in us can do that.
Second, God's desire for His people hasn't changed. God is holy and just and pure. He tells us in the Scriptures to be as He is, so He expects His people to be holy, just, and pure. Not prudish, not dated, not cranky, but holy and just and pure. We know this is possible, because He would never give us a directive that cannot be fulfilled. Furthermore, He promised those who are His that He would transform us by His power. This has not changed. We can count on it.
Third, God continues to be faithful and compassionate, and He wants us to be faithful and compassionate. We can stand against what is clearly wrong and definitely contrary to the Scriptures and, with no sense of conflict, love those who live another way.....
Fourth, God's truth remains unchanged, as revealed in the Scriptures. As the popular media challenges traditional concepts and desensitizes our moral nerve endings, and as the courts redefine truth to accommodate an evolving moral standard, we can count on the Bible to reflect the mind of God... All else may fail, but, as, always, we can count on God's word.
Let me summarize everything I have said so far:
The world has changed and it's going to keep changing;
but God never changes;
so we are safe when we cling to Him.
I can assure you that when the polls came in early that Wednesday morning, God wasn't sitting in heaven thinking, "Oh dear.... didn't see that one coming. AH! What are we going to do now?!" Hard as it may be for some to believe, God knew this was going to happen. He is still holding us as a nation. He is still in control, and He is still on the throne. That will never change. And in a world that shifts and changes like the ground beneath our feet, He's a solid rock to stand on. So, no matter how you feel - about our new President; about the upsetting things that have happened this past year; or about any upsetting things going on in your life - rest in the fact that God is still God. And His desire is still for us to be drawn close to Him.
I'm reminding myself of this, too. Because it's easy to get down and out about what we see and hear in the news every day. But if we fix our eyes on who is on the throne instead of who is in the White House, and we keep these four things in mind -- that the heart of humanity hasn't changed, that God's desire for His people hasn't changed, that God continues to be faithful and compassionate, and He wants us to be faithful and compassionate, and God's truth remains unchanged -- we may get a little closer to creating a place that looks more like the boys in the picture.
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