A Christian and an American: The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and President Donald Trump’s Inauguration

A Christian and an American

The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and President Donald Trump’s Inauguration

20 I 25

Today, especially, I am, in the best sense of the word,  proud of who I am.  I am first, a Christ follower and second, I am an American citizen.  My 76 years of living and my near death experience puts things in different perspective and greater clarity.

First, I am a Christian. I have found a love that will not let me go. His name is Jesus.  And to follow Him has given me purpose and meaning for my life that I would not have otherwise.  It means that what God has called me to do has eternal significance both personally and in the world.  There is nothing outside my faith that could give me what He has given me. Coming from worship this past Sunday filled me with joy knowing that God revealed Himself to the world and to me (an epiphany)

Second, I am an American.  In my younger years I took for granted and gave little thought to my country of birth and my citizenship.  However my travels and my work in other parts of the world have given me insight into the greatness of our country. There is no other country in which I desire to live. The Inauguration of the president today reminded me again of the greatness of our democracy. To be in a country that has honored God from its inception and has been the impetus for much we have done over the years, brings great satisfaction to me.  The Inauguration today, in fact all Inaugurations that I have can remember, have brought to the forefront God as our Maker, and Sustainer.  Think about today.  The military band played: “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” and “Now Thank We all Our God” and the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” was sung by the military choir—instead of leading a military coup or a insurrection to overthrow a government like in so many other countries.  Today, the inauguration had five different Judeo-Christian clergy lifting up prayers to our God.

Today also happens to be the day we honor the life and memory of the great civil rights leader, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.  He was a Christian and then God called him to be a pastor.  He challenged racial segregation in our nation and began the transformation of our culture to see all persons as created in the image of God.  In his “I Have a Dream” speech, he said:

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”……And this will be the day -- 

this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning: ‘My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, From every mountainside, let freedom ring!” And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. I have a dream that one day every ‘valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together’ (see: Isaiah 40:4-5)……And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” (selected sentences; delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.)

Benjamin Franklin called our democracy an “experiment”.  Its success will be based only on honoring and obeying our God who called us into existence and gave us the mandate to live as “one nation under God”.  Today we recognized the greatness of God. 

Yes, what a privilege to be a Christian and to live in a country where Christian values (for the most part) are honored. 

Grace an Peace,

Quentin

Sharecropper’s Inheritance, 20 I 25