The Shining City on a Hill
Like all of you, I was greatly alarmed by the attempted assassination of former President Trump this past weekend. I am incredibly happy that he is safe. My prayers go out to him and the other victims of this cowardly attack on our democracy and our country. I’m sure that many feel like our country is being torn apart. There is anxiety and fear. Many feel outrage and anger. Sadly, for some there is hate and despair. Some folks feel that what is going on is the “end of all things.” But, remember, only God knows when He is going to say that time is up, this is the end, that judgment day is here.
I hope to offer a different way to live and navigate these difficult times. Instead of being despondent, instead of embracing the “hand-wringing” panic that seems to be consuming our culture, let’s put God into the picture. It does not matter who sits in the White House in 2025, God will still sit on the throne! I am not putting on rose-colored glasses, and I will not pretend that many of our streets are not filled with violence.
What we are seeing (in politics, in our neighborhoods, in our world) is nothing new. History records the “ups and downs” of civilization. American history reminds us that our deadliest war has been against ourselves. Since our country’s founding, four of 46 Presidents have been assassinated. My earliest memory is when President Kennedy was shot and killed. I grew up with the bloodshed of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. Yet, in the midst of this chaos and mayhem, God has blessed this country. We have survived great strife and discord, and in the days ahead, this weekend’s drama will recede into the “rear-window” of life’s perspective.
Our country has survived nearly 250 years of conflict and growing pains. When the original 13 colonies embarked on their wild and unheard-of experiment in democracy, most critics did not believe this crazy venture would last long. We have survived despite horrible injustices, wars, scandals, and tragedies. We were never perfect, but our foundation has been on God. The early colonial patriots that dared to start “something new” did so with a great faith in God. Our “Founding Fathers” never claimed to be perfect men. Their bravado and courage were found by trusting in a great God.
There are those today who will rightly point to the fact that many in America have turned their backs on God and our Christian heritage. Many people have not learned the lessons of history. As God has worked through the ages and in all history, He has not required “perfect people.” Truth be told, none of us are perfect. What we saw Saturday was a disturbed young man attempting to kill a political rival. That is deeply troubling and points to the fact that there is much evil operating in our world. Yet, God’s plans are not thwarted. God is never surprised at the things mankind does (good, bad, or otherwise).
The real answer to what this world needs is Jesus. No amount of political scheming will solve this world’s problems. Finding more money will not bring peace and contentment to this contentious world. God made mankind to live in fellowship with Him. When our country sought after God and resolved to do things “God’s way” we flourished. Our best leaders have been leaders who have humbly walked in the way of Jesus. One such President was Abraham Lincoln. Consider what he said in his first inaugural address to a divided, contentious nation: “We are not enemies but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle field and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” This is up to all of us. This is our choice. We have the power to choose the better angels of our nature. That way is the way of Jesus. I believe that as long as God gives us “today,” we can make a difference. That difference, that hope is found in God. Former President Reagan, pulling from Puritan Pilgrim John Winthrop, described our country as a “shining city on a hill.” This shining city, this American dream, has been and always will be built on Jesus. Keep looking up!