Walking in the dark to the barn to do chores, I reveled in the quiet white beauty of a 20 below morning , half-moon greeting me, hanging over the barn with its companion stars, as if it was that morning so long ago over a small stable in Bethlehem. Nothing has changed; truth remains the same, the Almighty God of heaven and earth is still the solid rock of truth and redemption. And I realized how grateful I am to serve a King that was born in that humble manger, come to earth to save me, to save us all.
I am glad I do not serve a “king” with a scepter, like the one wielding its unrighteous and dishonest rule in our nation these days – a “king” who says one thing and then deceives and lies and rules according to his own well-being not that of his people. You know, the one who says you can keep your doctor, period, yet knows it is not the truth, the one who wages an intense war on babies from his throne, the one who says “If my daughters get in trouble, they should not be punished by a child”, the one who says Me, Myself and I in every speech, and barely glimpses at the death of our warriors in Benghazi, and turns against Israel. The one who never really means what he says, unlike a particular Duck hunter we all know, and who acts like he grants the people great gifts by returning some of the rights taken away from them by his rule, to then once again take it back after conveniently lying before elections. Do I need to go on?
The good news is that more and more people now read through the lies and deception as they are exposed, and what they find is a self-proclaimed “king” whose agenda is not good. Hopefully, a sleeping giant of freedom-loving Americans is waking up and taking this country back. Will it have been awakened by the words of a humble man from West Monroe or a hockey mom from Wasilla? Will it be alerted by each one of us acting in loving care for our neighbor by speaking Truth in the public square? Or will Americans be silent and succumb to the fear of name-calling by the preachers of tolerance? Will we give in to the new entitlement of “no offense” or “hurt feelings”? Or will we vigorously defend open debate and the First Amendment rights of all, defending free speech and religious expression?
Thomas Jefferson once said, “The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”
Wise words. Liberty is a difficult thing to live and defend, but we must do so at all cost. We need to toughen up, thicken our skin and stop falling for the argument of no offense. The issues of our day – marriage, morality, life – are all difficult and offensive as we each fail to live righteously. We are all in need of that King who humbly came to us so long ago to save, forgive and heal. Let’s take this time of year to seek Him, His forgiveness, His grace and redemption for each one of us and then beseech Him to have mercy on our fallen nation as we fearlessly work to restore what is good and great about America. Let’s not fear paying the price of a little name-calling, cowering from the intolerance of the so-called tolerant. Let’s not forget the true King we serve and His suffering for us. He has commanded us to speak truth regardless. As I remind myself of the truthful quote below, I smile as I celebrate Christ the King with resolve knowing that
“Jesus promised his disciples three things—that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy, and in constant trouble.” ― G.K. Chesterton
We are!
Happy New Year from our farm to your dwelling!
Janne Myrdal
State Director
CWA of North Dakota