We've Come A Long Way

I was just thinking about - - -

War – any War – is a dreadful thing. When War becomes a reality, there tends to be a movement towards inhumanity among men and nations. The horrendous conditions of the Concentration Camps during World War II in Europe; the indignity of Detention Camps for American citizens who happened to be of Japanese descent; the torture of captured Americans during the Viet Nam War; to the suggested and suspected torture of Terrorist detainees since September 11^th, 2001… all serve as a commentary of the harsh actions and behavior of man to man.

Even though Jesus Christ in His Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:6-8) indicated: “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” – His purpose was (and is) that we may find and have Peace in Him (John 16:33). When you pause and reflect upon the words of Jesus regarding – famines, earthquakes, floods, fires, natural disasters of all sorts throughout the world – these things should bring about a focus on The Almighty God more than on environmental and global warming considerations. The context of Matthew 24:37-39 includes this reminder: “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” The flood occurred as a judgment of God against sin and a carnal culture – not because of environmental issues.

I’ve been thinking further about the General who kissed the Koran and asked the Iraqi representative to forgive the American soldiers, etc… This is a far cry from a General during World War II when he was asked to surrender his command to a superior German force. History records for us some detail about that moment: “General Anthony Clement was the United States Army general who commanded the defending 101st Airborne troops in the Battle of Bastogne, Belgium… At Bastogne the 101st was put under siege by a far-larger force of Germans under the command of General Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz, who soon demanded that the Americans surrender. McAuliffe sent back to Lüttwitz his now-famous reply: "NUTS!" The 101st was able to hold off the German assault until the 4th Armored Division arrived to provide reinforcement.” One of the definitions for “Nuts” in the American Heritage Dictionary is: “Crazy; insane…” to either surrender or apologize to an enemy was not a viable consideration or option.

Perhaps that’s how our nation might be defined by an observing world – they’ve gone “Nuts – crazy…insane”! Our preoccupation with pleasure and self-gratification has caused us to relegate religious principles and scruples into a remote secondary role. The faith of our fathers is becoming a fading memory. The “greatest generation” (World War II veterans) is dying at an accelerated rate and will soon be forgotten. Yesterday’s Blog referenced Psalm 9:17. There is clear indication that “all nations that forget God” will not only be forgotten by Him, but also as being of any significance among the nations of the world. Our nation seems unconcerned as it accelerates toward the epitaph: “Ichabod” – The Glory Has Departed!

Think about that with me - - -