Holiday Thoughts – It seems to me . . .

Christians and Their Holidays

By Bob Beanblossom

12 December 2021

For many years now, I’ve heard well-meaning Christian folks explain that they don’t celebrate Christian holidays on certain days because there are, or had been, pagan celebrations on those days.

It seems to me that this is not only a bit short-sighted, but an affront to God. It doesn’t take much research to discover that every day of the year has been used by sinful man to celebrate his sinful behavior. After all, we live in a fallen world, both as revealed by Scripture and by casual observation. But rather than hiding, we are to shine His light in this sinful world that He came to save:

Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

Instead of glorifying God by openly celebrating Him, these folks bow to the god of the world and hide their heads in the sand, rejecting an opportunity to shine the light of the Gospel to the world as commanded by the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19). Rather than showing love for God, they join the world in rejecting the Great Commandment to proclaim Him to the world (Matthew 22:36-39) as they allow the world to rule rather than God, and as they fail to show love for their brothers and sisters by spreading the Gospel message that Jesus Saves.

Let’s take the opportunity presented by this Christmas (NOT Xmas or even a happy holiday) to obey Christ’s commandment to bring His light to the world in spite of growing anti-God social pressure. If we believe that He is “THE way, THE truth, and THE life,” and that “no man cometh unto the Father” except through belief in Him (John 14:6, emphasis mine) then we need to say so without hesitation. Remember Christian: we don’t witness in our own strength, but through Him and the power He gives us through the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle John wrote: “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. . . . Who is He that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 4:4; 5:5).

From the Cradle to the Cross

By Bob Beanblossom

28 December 2020

Christmas is over. The frantic energy of preparation has given way to the less enjoyable chore of cleaning up, packing up, and returning our lives to normal. Perhaps now is the time to reassess what “normal” should look like since we currently live in a world of fear that seems to be controlled by a virus 1/30^th to 1/400^th the diameter of a human hair—or by those who have the definitive “answers” to help us survive the pandemic that has disrupted families, closed churches, and business, all while drastically expanding the practical powers of government over all aspects of our lives.

The traditional assault on public expression of Christmas as a religious institution in general, often targeting highly visible nativity scenes, was expanded this year as the Corona virus became a vehicle to keep media and entertainment figures in the limelight, sports profitable, and extend the control of government. Constitutional protections have been thrown to the wind as executives, legislators, and courts exercised powers not enumerated in overt anti-God mandates, taking advantage of opportunities that attacks on single nativity scenes did not afford. Corona became the vehicle to control the church with inequitable prohibitions against worship always given as measures to “protect” the constituency from the dreaded disease were imposed even as the various elites disregarded their own mandates. Interestingly, the attack also shifted from private humanist organizations to overt actions by their often-silent ultra-wealthy sponsors who strongly influenced government actions. All, of course, had become instant “experts” on the disease and the best plan to counter its spread. On the family level, it remains to be seen whether old family-oriented traditions have been merely disrupted or the seeds of un-family practices initiated. We have yet to have the new normal defined for us, but preliminary glimpses reflect former President Obama’s promise to “fundamentally change” America. It is interesting that Karl Marx said, “My object in life is to dethrone God and destroy capitalism.” As I write this, additional mandates are being promised to close small businesses and continue church closures while discouraging or prohibiting family gatherings. All the while government is promising free money to take care of the poor struggling masses.

Back to Christmas. The nativity scene is an endearing part of Christmas for many. It is a visual reminder of Jesus’ birth and a summary of that story: His birth into a humble family; angels leading local shepherds to worship the newborn King. Then came wise men from far away, following a great star, bringing gifts of great value for the King of the Jews, a young child by that time, and departing quietly in direct disobedience to the Roman king. The timeline is compressed and the details are somewhat popularized, but the gist is there. Many of our children can tell us that the baby in the manger is Jesus who loves us. But there is a missing element: Why is this baby different from all others? Why did God’s messengers, the angels, announce the birth to local shepherds and exotic foreigners? A significant clue can be found in many of the paintings of the nativity scene: the Christmas star radiates its guiding light ringed by the shape of a cross. This cross is the Why that God the Son came to live and die among man. The cross leads mankind to the answers of life’s ultimate questions: why do I exist; why is there evil in the world. The cross illuminates the answers that have puzzled the wise men of all ages who looked for those answers within themselves rather than to the Person who died on that bloody instrument of torture and death. Life is not controlled by governments, or a pandemic, but by personal choices. For the Christian, choices are determined by a relationship with this Jesus Christ who is a personal Savior (Luke 19:10) who informs through His Word, the Bible (John 17:17),and comforts through the Holy Spirit (John 14:16). For those who have not yet accepted Him as their Savior, the message of the cradle, the cross, and the resurrection are hidden: “But if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost” (2 Corinthians 4:3). But it doesn’t have to remain hidden, for at some level, every man, woman, and child is aware of Him (John 1:9).

Christmas is over and the cross looms large: In God’s plan it is the next big event with eternal consequences for mankind following a brief interlude as God incarnate walks among men, one in which He was not recognized but by a few (John 1:10-14). The angel told the shepherds: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” What was that Good News? What could possibly be so important that the heralds of heaven came to earth to make the announcement? It was this: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (see Luke 2:8-11). Savior? What do we need to be saved from? Why is that important, or even helpful? The answer is simple, but intensely and personally offensive, for the Scripture (see Romans 3:20-30 for the following discussion) says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (v. 23). It is important to understand here that this is not a pronouncement on society but on individual man: we can read the “all” as “each,” and be spot-on the condemning truth. “It is certainly conceivable,” some might argue, “that others are sinners, for the news is full of violence and greed. But—I am a good person. I take care of my family and work hard: I’m a good citizen.” That may well be true. But it misses the point. God gave Moses the Law in the wilderness to be a guide for the Israelites, to point out the vast wall between the righteousness of God and man’s best behavior. Our failure—yours and mine—is characterized by the first and last commandments: rejection of God as Sovereign, without peer or even contender (Exodus 20:23); and greed (Exodus 20:17). The Word, in this same passage acknowledges the inability of man—you and me—to meet God’s standards on our own: “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (v. 20). Let’s not argue with that. It doesn’t take much reflection to realize that we are not righteous in the sense that God demands. My actions and thoughts are often less than desirable, even by my own standards. Paul, the great evangelist, wrote about this problem in his own life: “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” (Romans 7:19). Paul was a Christian, an Apostle, writer of several books of the New Testament. And he still had problems with sin. Was he a misfit, a failure? No. He was a man. And, even with his ongoing fight against sin, he—like you and me—was one of the “whosoever” that God loves (John 3:16).

Paul had an essential resource that he shared with the Roman Christians. He said: “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets” (v. 21). Let’s unwrap that a bit. Applied to you and me today, Paul said that the law set the standard of behavior and attitude that God expects, but man could not reach that standard on his own. God’s righteousness is outside of, beyond, the Law. Therefore, when Jesus came and became the sacrifice for our sins, the law was set aside for something better and more effective. He continues, “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon them that believe; for there is not difference” (v. 22). The solution, the new way that Jesus brought to you and me by His death and resurrection on that bloody cross, is the gift of God’s righteousness to each man and woman, boy and girl, who choose to believe upon Him, to accept Him, as their personal Savior: “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (v. 24). What is God’s grace that it can do what the law couldn’t? It is the unlimited love that God has for you and me. Love big enough to allow His only Son to become man and suffer the agony of death on the cross that we might live. Living in this sense means coming back into a relationship with our Creator that Adam and Eve gave up when they chose to disobey their Creator. Paul explains, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare righteousness for the remission for sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” (v. 25). Jesus is our propitiation, our stand-in who alone gains each believer forgiveness of sin and a personal relationship with God. This redemption is obtained by faith in Jesus and His sacrifice on the always-present cross, by which God declares us righteous by His standard when seen through the blood sacrifice of His Son, all through His forbearance, or grace.

Here is an essential part of Paul’s explanation: “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (v. 28). He brought this same thought to the Christians at Ephesus: “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). As Jesus replaced the Law with His own sacrifice, He showed us that there is nothing that man can do to satisfy the requirements of God’s righteousness: hard work, good deeds, charity: all are completely inadequate to make man presentable to God. However, the Good News of the Gospel is that “by grace are you saved.” This is achieved by the faith we looked at above. The faith of Jesus Christ (v. 22) that God would honor His sacrifice was proven as Jesus cried from the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Jesus’ death on the cross was accepted by God as the only act possible to achieve the propitiation for our sins. The formula is simple: By the grace of God we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ; it is the gift of God, not the result of anything that we can possibly do except accept His offer of eternal life. It is also unique: there is no other path to salvation. This is contrary to the predominant worldview that says that all paths lead to God. The problem is that this is only what man says. God says that worship is reserved for Him alone, not for our pet causes, hobbies, political and social activism, sports figures, or anything else. Worship in this case is anything that places that object above the time and energy we spend in our relationship with Him: “”For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:24).

Some may point out that Jesus was a Jew, and many of us are Gentiles, that is, not Jewish, or that for some other reason God’s offer of salvation by through faith through God’s grace is limited somehow. Paul addressed that issue, too: “Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith” (vs. 29-30). There is but one God, Paul says, who justifies both Jew (circumcision) and Gentile (uncircumcision) through faith by His grace. John quotes Jesus’ answer to a Pharisee named Nicodemus: “whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:15-16).

If you have never accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, now is a good time. There will be no better time. Just open your heart to Him, acknowledge that you are a sinner unable to save yourself, and ask Him to forgive you and come into your heart and soul. Jesus said numerous times to those who by faith accepted His healing power: “thy faith hath made thee whole” (Matthew 9:22; 15:28; Mark 5:34; 10:52; Luke 8:48; 17:19). Your exercise of that same faith is no different, for He does hear and answer the prayer of a sinner seeking salvation. The next step is to diligently read your Bible to learn what He says, not what others say He says (2 Timothy 2:15), and to join yourself with a Bible-preaching local church: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

The biblical advice is not much different for the discouraged or struggling Christian. Remember that even as Christians, we are still indwelt with our old sin nature that won’t be removed until we join Jesus in heaven. But we are promised, “But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (Galatians 3:22). The next step is to intentionally study your Bible, again not relying on what others say the Bible says, but learn from the Book directly. Then, make sure you are involved in a Bible-preaching church as Hebrews 10:25 states.

The cradle was the beginning of the current phase of God’s relationship with man. It is known as the Church Age. Christ’s death on the cross, His resurrection, and the coming of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost (Acts 2) ushered in the Church, itself. Sinlessness, wealth, comfort, and the like are not promised by Jesus, but the trials of life and even persecution cannot break our tie with Christ: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Romans 8:35).

There Were Shepherds in the Field

By Bob Beanblossom

27 November 2017

It seems to me that we don’t give the shepherds who received the message of Jesus’ birth the attention that they deserve. Not because they were special. Far from it. Because they weren’t—they weren’t politicians, theologians, business executives, but just plain folks. In many ways they were like us, not very special in man’s sight, though we hate to admit it; not among the elite, though we sometimes attach ourselves vicariously to successful teams or brands; not among the who’s who directories in our fields, though we are hard working and provide as best as we can for our families; not even among the most faithful in our churches, as examples to our own families. Just average folk. For some reason, God chose these shepherds from all the people in the world to receive the announcement of the most important event of all time–the birth of the birth of God’s own Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Without second-guessing God, and meaning no disrespect to the shepherds, here is a paraphrase that I hope will cause you to go beyond the language to the hearts of these men who lived to protect and raise their flocks that they might in time be sacrificed to the uses of man. I trust the dialect will set a scene, a mood, rather than detract from the message. If you find it offensive, then please go directly to Scripture and read it again there, because it is the story of God’s love for each of us.

There Were Shepherds in the Field

Luke 2:1-20

Out in the country, there were some shepherds watch’en their flocks all night, jus’ like every other night for the last thousand years and more. They gathered in the open hill country to protect their sheep from wolves and other varmints out looking for a square meal. The night was quiet and peaceful. The shepherds talked quietly as men talk around a campfire. All of a sudden, sumthin’ turned the night sky bright as day; it lit up the whole field and they were really skeered. It was a lone angel. Just one, but more than they had ever seen. What was strange was it didn’t bother the sheep at all. He told us to settle down, he didn’t mean us no harm. In fact, he had some really good news: over yonder in the city, a Baby was just borned; not just a baby, but The Baby, the One who would bring a heap of peace and joy to the whole world, even us. This here Baby is the one that God promised the old folks years ago: His name is Jesus Christ, the King of all kings, the Lord of all lords, greater than Caesar and David and even Solomon. Sounds sorta like something the priests talk about that our great prophet Isaiah said years ago.

That angel told us to go on up to the city and see for yerself. My friends and I will look after your sheep fer awhile. I know it’s crowded over thar with the festival going on and all, but it’ll be worth the walk. He won’t look like much. Just a new baby. He don’t have a great throne and bunches of servants and lots of fine stuff. He don’t even have His own room. There weren’t no rooms left for his folks—jus common workin’ folks–with the festival and all, so they are hanging out in a stable for now. Jus’ then, that angel brought on a whole army of his buddies. Couldn’t even count ’em thar was so many. They sang a song for us, went like, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” He told us to git on now—they’ed welcome us. That sounded good, but those city folk didn’t think much of us shepherds. We kinda smelled like our sheep and didn’t really dress up to snuff for them. Then the angel and his friends jus’ up and left. Did I tell ya that they just kind’a hung out up in the air—they didn’t walk up on us but jus’ floated around. Jus’ appeared and disappeared. And he told us not to be skeered. Yeah, right. A hungry bear skeers me—me and only my long stick and sling ta change his mind. That’s nothin’ like how that angel and his friends made me feel. Skeered—if you only knew!

Anyways, after they left and it was quiet and dark and all again, we kind’a wondered if we had had a weird dream or somethin.’ But we all saw and heered the same thing, so off we go to King David’s city. Warn’t far. We could see it on the hill with the walls and fine buildings and all. Didn’t see the angel around, but he said he’d watch our sheep. We believed him about the baby, so we believed him about the sheep. After all, angels are from God and He don’t lie.

So, we took off, up the road to town. The gate was open, people everywhere. No one seemed to know anything about this new baby, but we found one of the inns that had a young mother and her husband stuck in their stable, just in from Bethlehem, and just in time to have a brand new baby boy. There they was, sharin’ the stable with the animals. Mary—that was her name—told us that her baby was the Child of God Himself, not of Joseph, her husband. He didn’t seem concerned. He tended to Mary and the baby like all was normal. The baby didn’t look like a king, just a little baby. But there was somethin’ special about Him, just like there was somethin’ special about the whole night. We tole them thanks for lettin’ us see Him, and left out. We tole everyone who would listen about what had gone on that night—what we seen and heard. Some believed us, some thought we wus just drunk shepherds come inta’ town for some action when we shoulda’ been out in the fields with our sheep. But we knew better. We got back down to our flocks and all was well. The angel had looked after them just like he said he would. We wus still kinda’ excited: the angel and his buddies; the trek into the city when we should’a been with our flocks; seeing the Baby and talking with His mother; telling folks all about what had happened. We kinda’ carried on a bit.

Gave us lots to think about. Like whar the priests and those other important folks were? Didn’t see no Roman soldiers. Figured they might be upset when they heered about a Jewish king. Why us—a bunch of shepherds that city folks try to avoid? But it was true. We wus thar. We know. We seen the face of God and He looked us right in the eye. Glory to God in the highest. We ain’t never gonna be the same.

FALLEN HEROES–Thoughts for Memorial Day

It seems to me . . .

By Bob Beanblossom

July 2015/May 2017/May 2025

I wrote this ten years ago and have posted it on social media and my website (bobbeanblossom.com) every Memorial Day. I added a note for my high school classmates in 2017. Rather than add any more distractions, I simply present it again for your consideration. Most of all, to encourage you to remember the high cost of the freedom we have and those who made it possible.

It seems to me that this deserves to be re-posted. As we approach Memorial Day 2017, the nation is struggling as never before with the redefinition of our very core values. Marriage, the sanctity of life–both for the elderly and the unborn, the innocent and the gang-banger–and our very system of government. Respect has been replaced by hatred and animosity. We used to “respect the office” even if we didn’t like the officeholder. Today our very values are determined by our anger as incessant polls tell us who and what we like.

This is not about politics or polls, what bathroom you want to use, or who you think is oppressing or repressing you. It is about those who sacrificed to make your public viewpoint possible even if you disagree with them and spit in their face: the men and women, and their families, who make it possible for Americans and immigrants to tread–actually or figuratively–on our flag and what it costs to remain flying on the standards of the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.

I have a special dedication again this year:

To the CHS Class of ’65, my classmates from Cedarville High School. Located in the heart of the Corn Belt, CHS is in Cedarville Township, Greene County, Ohio. It’s history dates to its Revolutionary War founders who were paid for their service in land. The local gravestones attest their contributions to our community.

Cedarville boasted that it had ‘more churches than gas stations.’ Many more. Still does.

We grew up in a town that watched over us. The party line was in full force, and far more efficient than today’s social media. Families that were strong and central. Broken homes were the exception rather than the rule. We were as at home in our friends homes as in our own–and respected and obeyed their parents as our own. School was the focal point of our lives: It was where we learned and where we played. We thought of ourselves as unique among our peers.

It was a time of optimism. Our dads and uncles won WWII, but we didn’t know much about Korea. We still ‘Liked IKE,’ and JFK’s assassination was sobering but didn’t dampen our spirits. Kennedy had backed down Khrushchev’s Soviet Union and Castro in what would be called the Cuban Missile Crisis, we were winning the space race, and we were embarking on the Great Adventure–jobs, college, families. Our future looked bright.

In 1965, the reality of Vietnam had not hit our young lives–yet.

Soon, some of us drifted into military service–as volunteers or draftees–ending up In-Country or in support activities. The nation in general tried to ignore Vietnam while some ‘radicals’ actively protested American involvement. The latter turned their ire upon the men and women in uniform. The most graphic war coverage that had ever been aired on television only heightened the division in our land. We came home to find our families, our communities, our nation fundamentally changed.

With that as background, this is about those we knew–and only knew of–who came the hard way. Although dedicated Americans had to work for years to have some of our brothers and sisters brought home, and POWs reunited with their homeland, the majority of the 58,200 who died serving an ungrateful nation came home to be united with their forebears in family plots or national cemeteries. Special military units were established to quickly and efficiently assure proper ID, rapid transportation, and graveside honors. No use delaying the inevitable. Neighbors offered their sympathy then quickly return to the routine of life. Widows in military housing were turned out quickly–there were no provisions for ‘non-military‘ tenants. The effects–the hurt, the anger–were undercurrents that permeated our culture.

Cedarville liked parades. Every memorial Day the town would gather at the town cemetery a mile or so north of town. A parade would end up there, a speaker or two would remind us of our heritage and those who served, and we would all go home.

Somehow, after ‘Nam, it wasn’t quite the same.

Here’s to those men and women, fallen in combat, and passing on since, who answered the call of our country–in all eras.

Parents and grandparents, teachers, pastors–please take time to teach our children how great America has been, where that greatness came from–and what it cost.

As we celebrate another national holiday honoring our country’s heritage I would like you to join me as we focus our thoughts just a little. We often take time during public events to remember those who died in the course of defending our freedom—our Fallen Heroes. This is as it should be. Americans who died in combat and those who died in terrorist attacks deserve individually and corporately our respect and remembrance. They were dads and moms, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and friends. They deserve an America that continues to be a bastion of freemen observing human rights and civil liberties, regulated by the Constitution, that is built and maintained on the foundation of God’s Law. Heroes they are. But perhaps not because of the reasons you think if you have not been ‘there,’

THEY GAVE THEIR LIVES

This is the great myth we hold regarding those who died in combat and, increasingly, in terrorist attacks. Without minimizing their loss in any way whatsoever, I would like us to recognize that very few of these Americans gave their lives. I will discuss those in the next section. The vast majority who died serving us in a military capacity or as civilian targets had their lives wrenched from them violently and impersonally. These without exception wanted to live to go home to their families and friends. They wanted to live another hour, another day, another year. Each had hopes and dreams. Each had something left undone. Their deaths were neither peaceful nor picturesque—theirs was not the stuff of movies and TV. If death did not come instantly, theirs was a time of ultimate loneliness and suffering—often terror—as they realized that they were beyond the help of their friends and of the world’s finest medical teams. If not a child of God, their aloneness was complete and devastating—more devastating than the wounds themselves. Even if saved by the grace of our Lord, there was a sense of the incomplete: words to be spoken, relationships to savor, things not accomplished. These many who died in our service did not give their lives—they had them taken away violently and out of time.

FALLEN HEROES

This is the relatively small group of those who died on the battlefield as a result of intentional actions. They are rightly called Heroes. These men and women truly gave their lives. They picked the hour and the minute, expecting their actions to prove fatal. Some few survived. Most, however, died “for their country” only in a distant sort of way. Each died defending and protecting their friends, their buddies. If you will read the citations issued for these heroes and talk with combat veterans (and terrorist attack survivors)—if they will share their most private and haunting thoughts with you—you will find invariably that these heroes chose their actions to protect that small group of individuals that was closer to them than can be explained. Brought together by moments of terror and hours of waiting, they were closer than brothers. These are the Heroes. They died no less violently, and with no less pain and anguish, but willfully and willingly for the few, for their friends. Again, this in no way diminishes their heroism.

Their behavior may seem to be paradoxical to many, especially to family and friends who bear their own grief to their graves. There is a precedent that we might look at, however. Many years ago on a hill called Golgotha, the very Son of God gave his life intentionally and completely, not for the masses, but for me. And for you. In a very real sense he died for each individual man and woman from Adam and Eve through the last person to ever be born before time itself dies. That death was no surprise. Planned from the beginning of eternity, it is God’s provision to provide a path of salvation to his fallen creature, Man. He has made this known to all men—Battlefield conversions are common, battlefield atheists are rare:

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men . . . (Titus 2:11)

Unlike the beneficiary of the battlefield hero, God’s salvation requires us to accept the gift of Christ’s death in order to secure our own life. Failure to accept that offering results in eternal death. It is a life or death decision. The offering is certain and universal:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:16-17)

THE SURVIVORS

We sometimes hear about Post Trauma Stress Disorder (PTSD) among combat veterans. In the past it was called “Shell Shock” or simply ignored. It is real and it is pervasive. Without going into medical areas that I am in no way qualified to discuss, let me simply give you a layman’s perspective.

PTSD is the survivor’s curse. It is that pervasive, nagging knowledge that you survived when others did not—sometimes battlefield friends and acquaintances, often those we did not even know—sometimes Heroes who died saving your life. It is driven by memories and what-if’s.

Vietnam was the first “live” war that the American public experienced. Technology brought some of the reality of war to televisions in the homeland in a way that had never before been possible. Yet it was (and still is) a censored reality, tempered by some sense of propriety. The public gets to see exciting explosions, and an occasional sad faced child, but generally war coverage is distant and impersonal. It occasionally includes images of a fallen soldier coming home to grieving family, and friends, and community. It never included the rows and rows of neatly stacked aluminum boxes of the fallen waiting to bring the fallen home to be processed and further shipped to waiting loved ones. Shining brightly in the sun, these boxes greeted soldiers coming in-country to begin their war, and reminded those leaving the war zone that “there, but by the grace of God go I.”

Today the media largely ignores the wars our soldiers are fighting, and the casualties are seldom mentioned–unless something happens to fit a political agenda. Today we hear more about social engineering in the armed forces instead of the always outstanding service of the men and women in uniform.

God has made provisions for those who serve, and those who wait:

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. (1 Peter 5:10)

All human activities have consequences. For those who know war intimately, it is a never ending part of who they have become. Memories remain, and with them the question: Why did I survive when others did not. The memories may subside at times—be masked by the business of life–but they never really go away. The effects spill over to the “real” world.

THE HOME TEAM

It remains, then, for us to honor those who served us that is in some way fitting to their loss. This honor cannot be confined to special holidays. It requires the maintenance of a strong America continually growing on the foundation of the rule of law with a people who have a moral anchor in the Living Word. Without the ongoing attention of “We the People” to maintain that rule of law–law based upon a written and rightly interpreted Constitution–their sacrifice will be useless, and their country—our country—will be lost.

May God Bless America has been the prayer of every President–until now. May we not only seek to secure that blessing, but to re-establish a nation worthy of that blessing.

President John F. Kennedy said it well in his inaugural address in 1961 (excerpted):

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.

“Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe. Now the trumpet summons us again — not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are — but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation” — a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.

“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.

“Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”

As I re-read this, I find that I am unable to ask that God bless this country. I cannot ask God to bless the wickedness that permeates our government, our cities, our homes. My prayer, instead, is for revival, for cleansing, and for a return to the values of our founding fathers—that those whose blood has been shed for us will not have died in vain. Each of us is culpable, each of us holds the possibility of the rebirth of America’s greatness–measured in the spirit of her people, not in the gross national product. America’s greatness, under God, begins and ends with me, and with you.