Today the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a law that takes yet another swipe at the freedoms Americans supposedly hold dear. Not too long ago, I would have sat down at this computer and typed out a political rant outlining the reasons why America is (to borrow a quote from an old friend) "going to Hell in a handbasket". But God has been doing something in my life recently, and while I still hold very strong, very definite political views, I find myself thinking of something else today.
It is more important now than ever that I teach my daughters about the Lord, that I turn their focus to Him and to His Word. We can no longer take comfort in the fact that we live in a "Christian nation". We can no longer rely on cultural Christianity and basic morality to protect our families. In fact, that very "comfort" is why we are where we are today as a nation and as a church. The church dropped the ball years ago. The family dropped the ball years ago. "Cultural Christianity" has done more damage to the church and to the family than anything else I can think of.
My girls will become adults in a world that has no respect for God or for His Word. They are living in a world that scoffs at the ideas of fidelity, one-woman-one-man-marriage-for-life, and the protection of life at every stage. The basic "truths" that I assumed were universal when I was their age are no longer even relevant in this world. They are, however, still relevant and completely true in the face of Almighty God. Comfortable, cultural Christianity will no longer get it. This generation of believers, if they are to survive, are going to have to be totally and completely, radically, sold out for Christ.
Everything has to change. Every focus, every goal, every decision has to become a radical focus, a radical goal, a radical decision. My job (and their dad's) is to point them in that direction. We have always said that our goal is to raise Godly young women who love the Lord with all their hearts, minds, souls and spirits and who will be Godly wives and mothers. We have never claimed to be raising super scholars or performers. Their education, their talents, their gifts have all come as a distant second to their spiritual development. But I am reminded today that that has to become even more intentional. The world my girls will become adults in will challenge every belief they have. It will defy their God, laugh at their convictions, and mock their lifestyle. Living a Godly life will be a challenge every day. They MUST know what they believe and why. It must be completely real to them. They must own their faith now, or they will stumble in it then.
And so, while I will continue to voice my opinions in the political realm, while I will stand for what I believe to be right and vote for what I believe to be good, I will not let myself become so wrapped up in those things that I lose focus of my main goal. No matter who runs our country, no matter what the current laws state, no matter what the world screams, my goal will be to send out from this house women who love the Lord their God with all their hearts, minds, souls and spirits, and who will teach others to do the same.
