One Nation Still Under God

By Author: Mark Arens
Total Articles: 27
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What a blessing and opportunity we all have for living in a country that was created under God. To have that freedom, the freedom of choosing your God and following Him openly and freely is a freedom that not many people have and for that we should give thanks. I think that it is truly remarkable that our Founding Fathers deemed have a relationship with God to be so important that it was addressed in the first amendment; not the second or third or tenth but the first. Maybe they believed that without God there wasn't a future and without a future, why even do the work of creating all of the other amendments. There is no question that the likes of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin truly wanted America to be under God's care and under His caring and watchful eye.

As Benjamin Franklin is quoted, "In the beginning of the contest with Britainwe had daily prayers in this room for divine protectionthey were graciously answereddo we imagine we no longer need His assistance?" That was an issue that he addressed at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and it is an issue that we still battle today.

We always ...
... pray and ask for Gods help when things get difficult. It's amazing the amount of crosses that became visible after the attacks of September 11th or how many "thoughts and prayers" go out to our soldiers during a time of war. Don't get me wrong, both of these actions are good and necessary, but what happens a month, year or even a decade after the soldiers come back home and after people feel safe to fly again? Where do those prayers go, where do the open displays of faith from our public and political figures go?

Benjamin Franklin, to sum it up, says don't just turn your back on Jesus after He helps us get through our trials and struggles; but isn't that sort of what some of us do? Doesn't it seem like sometimes our government will ask for God's watchful eye over our soldiers overseas and then the next press conference they will be talking about taking "One Nation, Under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance? They will thank God for one thing while at the same time trying to remove "In God We Trust" off of our currency?

How often, even in our personal lives, do we say that we live our lives under God, but we truly only live under God when it is convenient or we deem it necessary? How many only pray in a time of need but never at a time of giving thanks?

I am happy and proud and feel blessed to call myself an American and I am proud to say that this country was built under God, is currently operated under God and I feel safe to say that it will always be that way. Even though it may seem that there are times that instead of under God; we are "under oil" or "under the economy" or whatever the new important issue is; the one constant is God.

God has been here with us from the very beginning and He will be here watching over us far after you, me or any of our kids are gone. And there is no question why; if you spend a little time looking in His word and studying how He feels about you, you'll find Him telling you that He loves you, cares about you, is with you, is near you, you are by His side, you can rest in Him. Those are all ways that I would love to have describe the God that my country is under!

And as this generation gets older, I think that the best way to make sure that America continues to be a strong and proud nation "under God" is to be sure to pass along to our children, the next generations of Americans, just how important that is. As Abraham Lincoln said "I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life." I love the word choice of "clung"; he didn't say that he remembered them because that would imply that it took some effort from him. Clung infers that God was not letting go; once He got into Honest Abe's head He wasn't going anywhere. Even if President Lincoln wanted to forget about what was taught to him by his mother there was no getting away from it. For lack of better phrasing, that is really cool!

But there is a lesson there, our children "cling" to what we say. How many of you have the same political stance as your mother or father? We believe what our parents say and often take it as gospel, so why not teach them the gospel? Be sure that your sons and daughters know about Jesus, be sure that they know that America was a country created under God and that it needs to remain that way. That way, a hundred years from now, America will be one nation STILL under God!
Mark Arens, the man with a heart for kids, a hand for parents and a "thumbs up" for families, has great resources to find comfort, encouragement and refreshment by soaking in assuring words and soothing music that reflects God's ever present care and love for you and your family! visit www.under-god.net