Remembering Honest Abe

Yesterday was Abraham Lincoln’s birthday (in case you missed that).  He was one of our greatest Presidents and led our nation in one of its most tumultuous times, the Civil war.  What I’ve read of him leads me to believe he was a brother in Christ.  We typically hear him referred to as “Honest Abe” – that’s a major part of his legacy (how many politicians can you name who are known for their integrity?). We do well to teach our children of these great men and great Christian men and women. The public schools certainly aren’t doing it anymore !  And we as parents have a Divine mandate to teach our children well, obviously the Word of God is basic in this (Dt.6) !  But so too is instilling in the next generation that America has a rich spiritual heritage.   Many of our Presidents and other leaders professed Christianity, our founding documents had written into them many good biblical principles. Our government is supposed to work on a system of checks and balances which recognizes that men are sinners (Rom.3) and as such need accountability.

Take some time to pick up a good book and read about Lincoln or Washington and see how they believed and lived their great lives and let it encourage you to the same. I’ve been reading one lately about Washington and it’s very heartening to see how he saw the Lord at work through his life or as he called it “divine providence” and how he was very active in his local church in Virginia as a leader there. We have a great chapter in the Bible in Hebrews 11 that lists for us great lives of faith, as if the Lord is trying to let us know such reminders are fortifying to us as we run our races with patience too.

In reading many biographies through the years of great men and women they, like Hebrews 11, spur you on to live for the Lord. And as this chapter ends the next begins: “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses (all the folks who lived by the faith), let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. . .” (Heb.12:1-2).  You have been given a life and God wants you to live it for Him so as to leave a rich spiritual legacy for others to follow.  So no matter what happens in your life today look to Jesus because today is one piece of that legacy for you to write, and as you stay focused on Him you write it well !!

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