Commitment Coast to Coast
Dave Faust
Not long ago, in an interesting quirk of scheduling, I spoke at a singles retreat in Florida followed by a senior adult conference on the Oregon coast a few days later. One week I gazed at the Atlantic Ocean and moss-covered cypress trees near Jacksonville; the next week I hiked across sand dunes overlooking the Pacific and toured the cheese factory in Tillemook.
From sea to shining sea, our nation abounds in natural beauty. But our most precious resources are not our forests, lakes and rivers, or our amber waves of grain. Our strength doesn't lie in minerals beneath the ground or mountains towering above, in the beauty of our harbors or the bounty of our harvests.
"Righteousness exalts a nation," says Proverbs 14:34. A nation's true strength comes from accepting God's grace, seeking God's face, and honoring God's standards.
However, Proverbs 14:34 goes on to add, "but sin is a disgrace to any people." Sin is bipartisan, and nothing weakens a society more than rebellion against God. It brings disgrace to any people, whether they're Republicans, Democrats, independents, liberals, conservatives, moderates, or politically unlabelables. Sin knows no political boundaries; it respects no party lines. Political platforms can address its symptoms, but only the blood of Christ can eradicate it. And only commitment to Christ can transform society where it counts most—in the hearts of individuals.
Consider James A. Garfield, a Christian church preacher, who was elected president of the United States in 1880. He served only a few months before an assassin's bullet ended his life. At Garfield's funeral, held in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 26, 1881, Isaac Errett (then editor of Christian Standard) said in his eulogy, "James A. Garfield went through his whole public life without surrendering for a single moment his Christian integrity, his moral integrity, or his love for the spiritual" (quoted in *Christians on the Oregon Trail *by Jerry Rushford, College Press, 1997).
"Christian integrity." That's what our nation needs, both in the glaring spotlights of public office and the unspectacular routines of private life.
Elijah once felt discouraged about his nation's direction. He thought he was the only servant of God left. But God still had thousands of people with integrity who hadn't bowed their knees to Baal (1 Kings 19:18). And he still does.
They are solid citizens and public servants whose highest loyalty belongs to the kingdom of God. They do an honest day's work on farms, in factories, in offices. They teach in our schools, build our homes, and care for the sick. They hold hands with their families and pray around their dinner tables, and read Bible stories to their children before tucking them into bed at night. They try to love their neighbors and make their communities better places to live.
From coast to coast, committed Christians—people with integrity—are making a difference in Florida and Oregon and everywhere in between, including your town and mine.
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 33:12).
This column first appeared in The Lookout on Nov 2, 1997.
Climbing the Mountain Together: The Crucial Role of Older Believers in the Church’s Future
As the church heads into the future, we may be overlooking one of our greatest resources: senior adults. In many congregations, people over age 50 are a sleeping giant—an untapped reservoir of ministry potential. Seasoned saints have wisdom, experience, spiritual gifts, time, and financial resources to share, but they struggle to find their place in God’s family. In some cases, they have been “put out to pasture” by leaders who overlook them or tacitly communicate that the church doesn’t care about them.
Count Your Mini Blessings
When my children were small, their mealtime prayers were remarkably specific. We taught them to pray with their hands folded and eyes closed, but occasionally they would lift an eyelid and sneak a peek at the dinner table. Lest any of God's blessings should go unmentioned, they prayed something like this: "Dear God, thank you for the meat loaf, and the mashed potatoes, and the rolls." Then (after a moment of hesitation), "Thank you for the brussels sprouts, even though most of us don't like them. Amen."