Separation of State
There's no real way to describe my disappointment at this year's election. I'm not only upset about how things turned out in terms of political parties (though this is disappointing) but I am even more disturbed by the ideologies represented by everyone in political leadership in our nation. As a Christian, do I have anyone fighting for what I believe in our government?
Yesterday, we met our birthmother for the first time, and thus, met Elora. It was a wonderful meeting surrounded by wonderful new friends and Christian brethren. Truly, Olivia and I experienced the love of the Body this weekend more clearly than most are able to experience!
However, we live in troubled times. When my daughter is born, how am I to view the world she is born into? How am I to teach her right from wrong when the world says there are no absolutes (which is of course an absolute statement)? How am I to mold her and protect her in a world that calls discipline child abuse and true crimes against children a mother's choice? How am I to train her in godliness when our governments teach that premarital sex is unavoidable, criminals are the true victims, and child pornography is art? How am I to do it?
I'm going to do it with faith, with passion, with prayer, and with action. I'm going to do it with the inner manifesto of Jesus Christ pulsing through my veins. I'm going to do it with unapologetic love and uncompromising recognition that it is God (not humanity) who defines SIN. I'm going to teach her that though the world may tell her many things, it is God alone who defines TRUTH. I'm going to teach her to think for herself, lean on the cross of Jesus, listen to the Holy Spirit, and treat our persecutors as lost and hurting souls created in the image of the living God. I'm going to lead by example, confess my mistakes, and trust God to take care of her from her first breath to his return in glory.
I don't know where the Lord is leading in the specific circumstances of this recent election and our country's decades-long slide into sin-promotion, but I do believe that He is still on His throne and can be trusted. Whomever sits in the Oval Office, God's throne is higher. Whatever they teach in our schools, God's truth remains. Whatever they call right or wrong, it is still God who defines righteousness and sin.
There are some things I believe I do know, and they both encourage and challenge me: Evil will increase along with the Kingdom of God as wheat and tares growing up together until the harvest. God is still at work and answering prayers, as He has done in our family by bringing Elora to us and in training Olivia and I in righteousness through our marriage. Christ is King and those who suffer for His Kingdom are blessed. Truth is still True, Jesus is coming back, and everything we see going wrong in the world is proof that we need God now more than ever. These are among the realities I must determine my Character around.
I'm wresting with my calling. I still have the dream of someday being a pastor in a church, or standing in the gap in some other higher-profile way. However, I have a greater dream of being a good husband and daddy, loving Olivia and Elora, and serving God quietly as He provides opportunity. My dreams of globe-trotting now include my girls and Gracey. My thoughts of significance are increasingly narrowing to my own home. My desire for honor is much less concerned with what outsiders think of me, and more concerned with who I am being with those closest to me. My priorities are changing and I love it! Yet, there is so much need in the world and I want to make a difference there as well, without neglecting that which is more important.
I heard once that Billy Graham's biggest regret in life was that he hadn't spent enough time with his family. This great evangelist and teacher could draw crowds of millions and was known around the world, and his heart longed for being better known at home. Whatever God brings my way (whether great or small in the world's eyes), I don't want to make that mistake.
So, when the world which Olivia and I are trying to raise Elora in goes crazy and turns upside down, how do I view it? I view it in the periphery! I focus on God and on my family. I'm not going to ignore the world (as if I could!), but I'm not going to allow IT to shape who I am more than Jesus and His special gifts to me do. I will remember the words of Jesus and try to focus on the responsibilities which are really mine to be caretaker of... "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world!"
It doesn't matter so much who my president is. Christ is my King and His Kingdom starts in my heart, in my life, in my marriage, in my family, and in my home.
Yesterday, we met our birthmother for the first time, and thus, met Elora. It was a wonderful meeting surrounded by wonderful new friends and Christian brethren. Truly, Olivia and I experienced the love of the Body this weekend more clearly than most are able to experience!
However, we live in troubled times. When my daughter is born, how am I to view the world she is born into? How am I to teach her right from wrong when the world says there are no absolutes (which is of course an absolute statement)? How am I to mold her and protect her in a world that calls discipline child abuse and true crimes against children a mother's choice? How am I to train her in godliness when our governments teach that premarital sex is unavoidable, criminals are the true victims, and child pornography is art? How am I to do it?
I'm going to do it with faith, with passion, with prayer, and with action. I'm going to do it with the inner manifesto of Jesus Christ pulsing through my veins. I'm going to do it with unapologetic love and uncompromising recognition that it is God (not humanity) who defines SIN. I'm going to teach her that though the world may tell her many things, it is God alone who defines TRUTH. I'm going to teach her to think for herself, lean on the cross of Jesus, listen to the Holy Spirit, and treat our persecutors as lost and hurting souls created in the image of the living God. I'm going to lead by example, confess my mistakes, and trust God to take care of her from her first breath to his return in glory.
I don't know where the Lord is leading in the specific circumstances of this recent election and our country's decades-long slide into sin-promotion, but I do believe that He is still on His throne and can be trusted. Whomever sits in the Oval Office, God's throne is higher. Whatever they teach in our schools, God's truth remains. Whatever they call right or wrong, it is still God who defines righteousness and sin.
There are some things I believe I do know, and they both encourage and challenge me: Evil will increase along with the Kingdom of God as wheat and tares growing up together until the harvest. God is still at work and answering prayers, as He has done in our family by bringing Elora to us and in training Olivia and I in righteousness through our marriage. Christ is King and those who suffer for His Kingdom are blessed. Truth is still True, Jesus is coming back, and everything we see going wrong in the world is proof that we need God now more than ever. These are among the realities I must determine my Character around.
I'm wresting with my calling. I still have the dream of someday being a pastor in a church, or standing in the gap in some other higher-profile way. However, I have a greater dream of being a good husband and daddy, loving Olivia and Elora, and serving God quietly as He provides opportunity. My dreams of globe-trotting now include my girls and Gracey. My thoughts of significance are increasingly narrowing to my own home. My desire for honor is much less concerned with what outsiders think of me, and more concerned with who I am being with those closest to me. My priorities are changing and I love it! Yet, there is so much need in the world and I want to make a difference there as well, without neglecting that which is more important.
I heard once that Billy Graham's biggest regret in life was that he hadn't spent enough time with his family. This great evangelist and teacher could draw crowds of millions and was known around the world, and his heart longed for being better known at home. Whatever God brings my way (whether great or small in the world's eyes), I don't want to make that mistake.
So, when the world which Olivia and I are trying to raise Elora in goes crazy and turns upside down, how do I view it? I view it in the periphery! I focus on God and on my family. I'm not going to ignore the world (as if I could!), but I'm not going to allow IT to shape who I am more than Jesus and His special gifts to me do. I will remember the words of Jesus and try to focus on the responsibilities which are really mine to be caretaker of... "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world!"
It doesn't matter so much who my president is. Christ is my King and His Kingdom starts in my heart, in my life, in my marriage, in my family, and in my home.
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