Growing up, my grandparents used to go down to the Outer Banks twice a year. I can remember visiting the lighthouses down there, spending most of the day on the beach fishing, and then at night spending time together in the house watching tv, talking, or the adults playing cards. I remember when the news broke that they were going to have to move one of the lighthouses or it was going to fall into the Atlantic Ocean. I can remember thinking, why did they build it so close to the shore in the first place? It was then that I started learning about erosion, and how the waves beating on the shoreline day after day, pulled the shoreline out to sea little by little. They didn’t intentionally build the lighthouse too close to the shore. But year after year, a little more of the shoreline disappeared until it became necessary to move the lighthouse.
I think the story of why the lighthouse had to be moved is a great picture of how America got to be the way it is today. It is undeniable that our nation has changed, and in all honesty, the majority of changes have not been for the better. The truth is, it didn’t happen overnight. It has been building for years, decades even, and we are just now starting to see the results of decisions made in the past. My concern is, if we don’t remedy these decisions, we aren’t going to have a country left, because God’s judgment will come down on us. There is actually a story in the Old Testament found in 2 Kings 22 that mirrors this. It takes place when Judah’s youngest ruler, Josiah, ascended to the throne. He wanted some repairs done to the Temple, because it had been neglected and abused in years past. As the work was being done, the Book of the Law was discovered. Scholars debate on why it had been hidden, and exactly when had it been hidden. But the results were clear, God’s people had not been acting like God’s people. Even though Josiah enacted many reforms after the discovery of the Book of the Law, Judah had gone too far. God’s judgment was coming and there was nothing they could do about it except to accept it, and learn from it.
I am genuinely afraid that my children, and if Diana and I have any grandchildren, will grow up in a nation very different than the America that she and I grew up in. We are going further and further away from God seemingly with each passing year. However, it’s not like a switch was flipped and everything just changed. It has been gradual, but now the changes are very visible. This is one of the ways that Satan operates. It’s why he is called the most subtle of all creatures in Genesis 3. He doesn’t come and act like we often think he would. Instead, he gets us to make small compromises today that will have lasting damages tomorrow. And while it is popular for Christians to bash non-Christians and blame them for where we are as a nation; I think we as Christians need to take a long, hard look in the mirror. Unsaved people are simply living and doing what comes natural to them (see 1 Cor. 2:14). You can’t expect the lost to act like they are saved, especially when we who have been saved by God’s grace don’t like we are saved. We are the ones who have compromised, and allowed this nation to sink further and further into sin. And I believe I know why and where it happened, and in the arena of politics isn’t where it started. It started in the home, with mom and dad. We lost the family altars. We stopped having family worship. We stopped prioritizing corporate worship attendance, and serving in the local church. When children see their parents act one way during the week, and then another way on Sunday, do we really expect them not to be confused? Do we really think that will make them want to share in our faith? Or what about when corporate worship is no longer a priority? Can we be shocked when our children don’t want to go to church, when we as their parents didn’t prioritize it? I’m not trying to bang on parents and heap guilt on you. Satan does that plenty. Rather, I believe we need a wake up call. We are one generation away from raising a truly godless generation, and it is coming faster than any of us saw it coming. We need to get back to dinner around the family table in which we not only eat meals together, but we also have a time of reading God’s Word and praying. We are getting close to Father’s Day, and so I believe it is important for us to realize the vital role a dad plays in the life of his children, especially when it comes to following Jesus Christ. This is not disrespecting moms at all, God bless the godly women who are loving and trying to show their husband the right way, and show their children how to follow God. We need both mom and dad living by example. It is time for Christians to come back to the table, and prioritize family worship. Then, maybe we will see our kids get excited when they go to church, because it will be a bigger version of what they have been doing with their family all week. If we won’t teach our children about Jesus, how to love Him, and how to obey Him in our daily life, I promise the world will teach them how not to do those things, and we simply can’t afford that spiritually or as a nation.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin