For God And Country

There has been a realization amongst some Christians of late. It consists of the truth that Christianity knows no borders. The fact that all who have been saved by Grace, through Faith in Jesus Christ, believing that he was crucified as payment for our sins, buried, and that God raised him from the Dead, are truly our brothers and sisters in Christ (Romans 10:9) regardless of what country they live in.

In truth, I think that this is something that all of us have known on some level, but it may not be something that we think about all that often. I think, though, that it can be somewhat comforting to know that, in spite of the rapid growth of other religions, and cults being on the rise, there are many devout followers of Jesus Christ the world over. I think that we should be careful not to forget this, especially considering that many Christians around the world do not enjoy the freedom to worship that we do here in the US.

While we certainly have a commitment to the body of Christ, that doesn't mean that we don't also have a commitment to our Country. The USA was founded on Judeo-Christian values, and with freedom in mind. Our freedom of speech and freedom of Religion go hand in hand. Our Constitution was set up to protect these freedoms, among others. Given the chance, there are many who would take these freedoms away, because they find the Truth of God, as laid out for us in the Bible, to be offensive to them. Being that we are a Constitutional Republic, meaning a nation ruled by law, with the Constitution being the Supreme law, which no other law may contradict, they are limited in the way they can do this. There are some laws that do contradict the Constitution, which can only happen through the ignorance and apathy of the American People, and our elected officials. So that is one way that these things can be done, through the continued ignorance and apathy of the people. The second way is to change the Constitution, through either amendment, which means one major change at a time, or a Constitutional Convention, which would allow for the entire Constitution to be re-written, or a new one written to replace the current one.

One way in which the American people have allowed the wool to be pulled over their eyes is the entire subject of "Democracy." Regardless of what you may have heard in the past, or been taught in school, the fact is that the USA is NOT a Democracy. A Democracy is rule by the majority. Everything is put up for a vote, and the majority wins, pure and simple. In a true democracy the rights of the minority, or even a silent, apathetic majority, are always trampled by the majority, or, at least the majority of those who show up to vote. Always. In a democracy there is nothing to protect the rights of the rest of the people. In a Constitutional Republic, such as ours, the power still rests with the people, as we do use a democratic process to elect officials, but we are voting for people that we have decided to trust to do what is right, and to make the decisions that are best for all of the people, but laws are in place to protect people who find themselves outside of the majority opinion.

We do owe a great debt of gratitude to our Founding Fathers for the Republic that they set forth in this nation, but we owe a far greater debt of gratitude to our Heavenly Father for all of the blessings that He has bestowed upon this great nation.

One other thing that we need to remember are all of the men and women who have given their lives down through the years to continue to protect those freedoms from tyrants and other forces who would have ripped them from us. Thomas Jefferson put it forth this way, "The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed, from time to time, with the blood of Patriots and Tyrants." Our liberties are truly a gift from God, yet, how many of America's Military Men and Women have spilled their blood to keep it?

I'm thinking right now of the wonderful song by the Statler Brothers, "More Than A Name On A Wall."

I Saw her from a distance, as she walked up to the wall, In her hands she held some flowers, as her tears began to fall. She took out pen and paper, as to trace her memories, then she looked up to Heaven, and the words she said were these...

She said, Lord my boy was special, and he meant so much to me, And, Oh, I'd love to see him, just one more time You see. All I have are the memories, and the moments to recall, So Lord, could you tell him, he's more than a name on a wall.

She said, he really missed the family, and being home on Christmas day, And he died for God and Country, in a place so far away. I remember just a little boy, playing war since he was three. But Lord, this time, I know, he's not coming home to me.

She said, Lord my boy was special, and he meant so much to me, And, Oh I'd love to see him, but I know that just can't be. So I thank you for my memories, and the moments to recall. And Lord could you tell him, that he's more than a name on a wall.

Oh Lord could you tell him, that he's more than a name on a wall.

More Than A Name On The Wall
Words and Music by Jimmy Fortune and John Rimel
Copyright ©1988 Statler Brothers Music (BMI)