Volume 8, Issue 30
As a Civil Rights leader in the 1960s, young John Lewis protested for righteousness. He did not judge. He did not burn down buildings. Instead, he sought the spiritual best in each person he met. As a follower of his teacher, Jesus Christ, John did not demand that whites yield authority to blacks just for the balance of rights. He also sought to influence whites to understand that in yielding to the authority of Christ, equality would ensue, in a society, emanating from the benevolent equal love of Jesus.
In facing the trials and tribulations of life, we all find ourselves at times overwhelmed. Our circumstances seem out of our control and without human remedy. In such times, one has to decide in whom or what to trust. Peter, upon seeing Christ walking on the water, asked Christ to call him. Jesus simply said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and walked on water. When the wind and waves frightened him, he began to sink and the Lord saved him. Jesus said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:22-32). The traditional interpretation of this scripture teaches that, as long as Peter had his eyes on Jesus, he was able to overcome the wind and high waves. When he doubted, he succumbed to the chaos.
By dropping to his knees in prayer outside a segregated swimming pool, John Lewis trusted God. He did not doubt. He was not just seeking access to a public facility. He was seeking God to make the whites equal to himself in knowing God’s love and mercy. No different than early Christians who prayed for Roman Centurions when they persecuted them.
No one needs to be reminded that we live in the most incredible times. There is a perfect storm impacting the world. We are experiencing a tumult generating high winds and waves of unseen viruses, economic crisis, racial tension, geopolitical conflict, political diatribe, and social weariness. The only way to overcome the tempest of this reality is to rely on an understanding greater than oneself.
Make no mistake about it. In times of chaos, one ultimately trusts a great uncaused cause. This is the enigma of our existence. To exist, something always had to exist in eternity. Christians like John Lewis have faith in the Creator, that life exists for a purpose. Atheists are forced to believe in an uncaused cause that they can’t define, relate to, or rely upon for rescue.
Throughout the history of mankind, totalitarian governments have failed primarily because of an inability to manage the freedom of individuals. Therefore, freedom, by requirement for maintaining power, must be restricted.
I pray for my brothers and sisters whose faith resides in the ultimate authority of the governments of this system of things, birthed by an uncaused cause of which they have no knowledge or personal relationship.
In this confusion of circumstances that presents itself to us every day, go into a private space, seek your inner spirit, and ask the most important question of your life: in whom or what do you trust? The answer to this question lays the foundation for one’s purpose.
He who trusts only in this system of things must find that the end justifies the means. To what end is always the unanswered question.
A Christian sees circumstances for purpose differently. Oswald Chambers puts it this way:
What is my dream of God’s purpose? His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay in the middle of the turmoil, calm and unperplexed, that is the end of the purpose of God. God is not working towards a particular finish; his end is the process – that I see him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just the absolute certainty that it is all right because I see Him walking on the sea. It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God
I never had the honor of meeting Congressman John Lewis. I would have jumped at the chance had the opportunity presented itself. I find myself missing a man enormously that I never personally met. The maturity of faith that he exemplified at the age of 22, by kneeling in prayer seeking God’s reconciliation for those who oppressed him, is magnificently inspirational.
In these times of crisis, we can find hope in John Lewis’ unwavering confidence that, by keeping his eyes on his Lord, he could overcome unrighteousness. He believed in the promise of American destiny recognizing that all men are created equal. By this same faith John had in his country, we can all take creed from the phrase printed on our national currency . . .
IN GOD WE TRUST.
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
What do you believe?