The men wore silk
top hats, the women their best dresses. The prior evening’s snowstorm
threatened to undo the entire event, but the winds of change were more powerful
than the storm. So, he ascended the podium, hat off now, looking so
young, so dapper in his black jacket, silver vest, with a silver tie
adorning his crisp white shirt.
The speech early on
had a captivating illustration designed to inspire a new generation about the
passing of the torch. This early word picture captured the ears of the
listening crowd, even the world. Through another twenty-two paragraphs he tried
to inspire. The speaker, now almost preacher, began paragraph twenty-five
with a fist gently pounding the podium. And then, as he got to the second half
of the sentence he raised his right index finger, slightly bent, and with his
distinct accent he spoke his most famous words. The crowd behind the lectern
didn’t seem to hear or notice the moment, but for one man. He was a large man
with big ears who possessed a keen sense of greatness, and as the words
echoed over the open air this astute listener raised his head and looked
surprised, no-he looked aware, that he had just heard a man
declaim generation-changing sound:
“…ask not what your country can do for
you-ask what you can do for your country.”
Has the ‘ask not’ generation become the ‘what about
me?’ generation? A sign of “growing weary in doing good” is that the
questions which we ask change; the range of people we seek to care for,
to love, grows more and more narrow until our sole concern, as with infants, is
“me.”
Generations change. Leaders change. Visions change. Nations change. Questions change. What God expects of nations which claim
to seek God’s blessing does not change.
Are we being asked the
right questions today, questions which lead us to become an America we would
expect God to bless?
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