I love Jesus. I love
America.
And the two are not an intrinsic conflict. Both statements are and can be true at the
same time without logical dissonance. And until somewhat recently, most folks would
have never questioned that both statements could be true at the same time. But alas, that does not seem to be the case
so much these days.
Christians have long used apologetics to state the Supremacy
of Christ, to articulate our personal, collective and universal need for a
Savior, and to extrapolate various aspects of Christian doctrine vs. doctrines
of any other religion, most primarily the other 4 of the big 5 – Judaism,
Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. I doubt
that I can add anything here to the great thinkers of the past. Beyond that, of the two loves I mention,
Jesus is by far the One with no identity crisis, the One fully capable of
defending Himself, and is these traits eternally – past, present and future, as
much as those terms can be applied to an ever-present eternity. So do not infer that I love one more than the
other by virtue of the fact that I spend more apologetic energy explaining why
I love America in the following lines.
That would be a false conclusion.
Nay, I write here on my love for America, because she is under attack,
not from an external enemy, but from an internal one. One whose tactics are based on lies
perpetuated by emotion, intimidation by mob rule, and self-righteousness in the
name of caring that cloaks a heart of fear and fear mongering.
Those are big statements for this preamble, but before I
break each one down, I must remind myself of the definition of love as patient,
kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud but humble. It is not rude, self-seeking or easily
angered and keeps no record of wrongs.
It does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth – even hard truth. It always protects, always trusts, always
hopes, and always perseveres. My prayer
is that my choice of words and phrasing below pass the above tests. And where they do not, I pray the Spirit’s
conviction to correct. And just so we
are clear – if my word choices offend you personally or make you feel
uncomfortable that does not automatically mean they were not loving words or
truthful yet hard words to read.
Personal offence or lack of comfort does not make my words hateful. One of the tests of the strength of love in
any relationship is the ability to disagree – even strongly – yet remain in the
loving relationship.
With these thoughts in mind, how do I defend my love and
concern for America? Who is this
internal enemy? Or perhaps that is
better asked who are these internal enemies?
Rather than call out names which will likely prove divisive and cause
you, my reader, to stop lending me your mind’s ear, I will instead offer
questions to consider and ask yourself as you listen and observe various
messages be they verbal or action. I
would argue that any message that leads to a “No” answer to these questions may
– and I did say may and not is – be from an internal enemy of America.
· Does this message strengthen the US Constitution?
· Does this message build up and edify America and Americans?
· Does this message exude respect for America and Americans?
· Does this message extend grace to flawed people, past or present, who still accomplished good and great things at possibly great personal sacrifice?
· Does this message lead to liberty, religious freedom, and self-government that is beneficial to all of society?
· Is this message coming from a position of facts and truth instead of fear and emotion?
· Is this message logically sound? Does it stand up to scrutiny?
· Does this message lead to respect for the source rather than fear of the source?
· Does this message strengthen the voice of the weakest among us?
If the answers to the above questions are generally a “No”, then that begs the question: what is the goal of the message? Is the goal a continuation of the God-given gifts of freedom and liberty and self-government without the burden of tyranny that prompted the American Revolution in the first place? Or does the goal seem more sinister? I see far too many messages these days that don’t pass the inherent tests within the above questions.
And it breaks my heart.
It breaks my heart for my grandchildren. Will they know the America I have known and loved and been proud to call home lo these 50+ years?
It breaks my heart for those whose livelihood sends them out in the front lives to protect others but who are condemned, abused and even ambushed, all too often losing their very lives.
It breaks my heart for their families, wondering each day if their spouse or parent will come home.
It breaks my heart for those who feel like they have no voice simply because their message isn’t loud enough. Or because their voice has been hijacked by others who are louder or more sensational.
And now where do I go from here? Yes, back to my opening statement. I love Jesus. I love America. Jesus is perfect, yet many, including myself, struggle to love Him with 100% sincerity and from a pure heart. America isn’t perfect. She never has been, and she never will be. But that does not mean she needs to be transformed as to be almost unrecognizable.
If we lose her – her call to live free, her call to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, her call to personal responsibility with compassion, her call to justice under the law, her call to be a City set on a Hill, her call to join the expansion of freedom from tyranny everywhere – if we lose her, she will not be easily revived. The loss will be great to not only all Americans but to the whole world.
I am but one voice, and I have almost no influence in this life, even among family and friends. But this one small voice will say to my dying day: I love Jesus. I love America.
