By ADA BROWNELL
I stood before George Washington’s burial site in a
beautiful garden at Mount Vernon. Chills crept over me as I read the
inscription in the inner tomb—Jesus’ words: “I am the resurrection and the
life, He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And
whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”
Later thinking about our first president and controversies
surrounding his faith, I wasn’t sure I’d sit down and talk to George “over there.” But
who knows except God?
The truth is, there is scripture all over Washington, D.C.’s
memorial sites. Whether our country’s forefathers lived exemplary Christian
lives, documents and much of what they left is filled with references to God
and Bible quotes.
I thought about how different the legacies our nation might leave
today for the next generation. In our public schools, students are taught they
appeared on earth without a Designer, and they are no more than animals. The
Ten Commandments are banned, but filthy books assigned. No wonder we have mass
killings, millions of babies aborted, thousands of teens infected by sexually
transmitted diseases every year, drug and alcohol addiction, suicides, cheaters
among students, half the people unable to make a marriage work, and a good
percentage of children growing up without two parents.
Instead of teaching children moral values and that they are
loved by the God who designed their DNA, Christianity is treated as the
nation’s biggest enemy, and the name of Jesus can’t even be mentioned with
respect at the same colleges like Yale and Harvard—started by Christian
organizations.
Other nations are becoming serious threats to the United
States and our economy is in serious danger of collapsing. But instead of
falling to our knees in repentance and asking for God’s mercy to heal our land,
we saturate our minds with amusements to make us forget. We live for today and
forget tomorrow.
In contrast to the foreboding darkness obscuring our future,
I think of Easter sunrise services I’ve attended when the church ventures out
in the cool morning before daylight and watches the sun rise as it did near a
garden more than 2,000 years ago. We
recall the words of the angel who appeared: “He is risen!”
A couple of weeks ago a scripture jumped out at me: “I have
come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me….
And this is the will of him who sent me, that everyone who sees the son and
believes in him may have everlasting life” (John 6: 38, 40).
That’s good news! He has come down from heaven to give abundant
and eternal life. The sun still rises
over America, and it has risen since the day we joined the Indians on this
wonderful continent. I believe there is hope for those who desire it.
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