Winning the 21st century will be accomplished one life at a time. The only thing that changes the world is changed lives. A life is changed only when the heart of that person is changed. You can force people to march in lock-step to a certain agenda, but the threat of punishment or death is the only thing that keeps them “in line.” That’s why it’s such a major effort for totalitarian regimes to keep their people moving in the desired direction. Whole armies are necessary, not only for defense, but just to keep their own citizens in check.
On the other hand freedom carries a certain risk. That’s why John Adams said that freedom can only work when the people have a moral foundation. It’s that inner compass that keeps free people from needing the strong arm of totalitarianism. That’s how our nation got off to such a strong start….we had the overwhelming majority of the population restrained in their behavior by their Christian faith.
Restrained sounds like such a limiting factor….like it keeps us from doing what we really want to do. In some ways it does look like that. The other side of that argument is the fact that we were created in a certain way for a certain role. When is a train most like a train? When it stays on the track. It works best and gets the most done that way. When we go along the path that we are designed for we are at our best, get the most accomplished and are the most fulfilled. To some that sounds very limiting, but it’s actually the most freeing way to live. Pursuing that for which you were designed is highly liberating.
Our nation was built by people that believed that very idea. A change of heart that aligns us with our God-given design will be both productive and fulfilling. Our nation can be rebuilt by the same method. Our job is to reach out to people with the life-changing message of Christ, help them to find out what God created them to do and then watch them be a part of winning the 21st century….one life at a time.
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