Getting Together

This has been a year for the record books in a lot of ways, hasn’t it, Dear Reader? There’s been a lot of passion on so many topics. It’s also given us an opportunity to reflect on patriotism. 

I love how Merriam-Webster defines patriot:

Isn’t it interesting that this definition doesn’t say anything about always agreeing  with all of our fellow countrymen and women? Being a patriot is all about loving your country. How we love our country can be as diverse as we are as a  people.

A few weeks ago our  pastor had the courage to tread on “hallow ground” when he preached a sermon on politics. Wow! That was a new one for me. He had the boldness to exhort us, “In Christ, we have more in common than all our differences.”

The big idea I walked away with is that, like the body of Christ, our strength as a nation is determined by our commitment to seek common ground. It is our sense of unity that can bind us together, no matter what. 

Dear Reader, whether you are jubilant or despondent over the outcome of this year’s elections, can we join hearts and hands as we remember that we are still  the United States of America? And beyond allegiance to our nation, can we claim and trust the sovereignty of our Father, the Creator of the Universe?

In this year of records, passions, and elections, we have a unique opportunity to seek  blessings of and for our nation. Perhaps we can begin by echoing millions of others who have sung “God Bless America” for a century as a prayer of thanksgiving and supplication.