He reigns

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while might know that I love the morning. Usually, it's the time of day when I'm productive and energetic, but sometimes it is the time when I am just quiet before the Lord, reading his word, watching his Creation wake up. This is one of those mornings. In an hour, I'll be sitting in my algebra class, working beastly problems I'd rather not think about. But for right now, in this moment, I want to tell you about something I've learned about the mornings:

The sun rises twice.

No, not literally, but it sure looks like it to my imaginative eyes. If you live any place moderately sunny, and get up early, you'll probably understand this phenomenon. See, the sun begins to get close to the horizon. When it does, it's not yet up, but it hits the air in such a way that oranges, purples, and deep reds begin to fill the sky. It's glorious! But then, something unexpected happens. Although a dull yellow or orange remains in the sky, the light that was just there is gone. Gone. For people who aren't expecting or accustomed to this, it'll seem weird, and most likely they'll go on about their business. For someone who knows what's coming, however, it's the time to get your camera ready. As the sun is rising, there are a few brief moments where it is hidden behind that  very horizon off which it was sending its rays. Then, in a flash of blinding light, you finally see it. Not just the colors you saw from it before (although those often reappear magically, as well), but you see the sun. It's brighter than all the other colors, and in many ways more beautiful. The great thing is that the sun is up to stay for the whole day. It's really very special when you think about it.

Incredible as that is, there's a similar phenomenon that is even greater, and that's what I want to spend this post talking about. There is another great light that rises twice. This one is actually also known as the Son. He was the son of a king. This king ruled over everything for all eternity, which for a while meant that he ruled over himself, and his son, and his spirit, which were (and are still) united as one. But the king decided that it would please him to create day and night. Then, he separated his home from the expanse, and thus created heaven and earth. On earth he made seas, and he made land. Soon, the king made great lights, terrestrial bodies, in the universe he had placed this earth in. The earth was empty, however, so the king added land animals, fish, birds...and then he created something very special: man.

Well, a whole bunch of things happened, and I'll sum it up by saying that this king created a helper for the man, and she was called woman; they were given one rule not to break (on punishment of death), and you guessed it...they broke it. But this king was the wisest, best, most kind, and still the most just king you could ever imagine. You might think of him like King Arthur on a huger, more perfect scale. Only better. So, in all his goodness, this king decided he wouldn't kill the two right away. But he still had to be just, so he threw them out of the little paradise he had made for them, with the promise that someday someone would save their broken world.

Years passed, then decades, centuries, millenia...and a whole lot of things happened. Through that time, some followed the king. Some payed homage to fraudulent "kings," and some denied any king whatsoever. Then it happened. The hero came, and the world was good...sort of. The hero, the king's son, died to pay the punishment for the disobedience run rampant in the world. He payed the punishment, rose from the dead, saved the world...and then left. A bit like Thor at the end of the Avengers, except this guy didn't shake Loki's hand. And, as it turned out, life seemed to get worse.

But this prince promised he would come back! And you and I are left in the darkness between the two risings of the Son.

What are we to do? If he's supposed to come back, shouldn't he kinda hurry up? This world has gotten pretty bad, in case you haven't noticed. There are earthquakes, wars, disease...when is this guy coming back? Well, you know the answer. He's coming when people of every nation have begun to pay homage to him, when certain prophecies are fulfilled...and we won't ever have any idea when that is.

It sounds a bit morbid, doesn't it? Yes, to tell the truth, it does. That's why I'm writing today: to remind you all (and really, myself) that it isn't quite as bad as it sounds. In fact, it's glorious.

Do you remember reading those stories about King Arthur and the Round Table? How he sent knights on quests? When they came back, the world was still a mess. But they had done their part to heal brokenness, and for that they were rewarded. We too, friends, will be rewarded! We are promised eternity with the Lord, simply for trusting in him. The lion will lie down with lamb, there will be peace, and Jesus will reign forever. How much better can you get?

A lot better. Or at least, you can understand it even deeper. Think for a moment about the reign of Christ. It will be eternal. It will be glorious. It will be a constant fellowship with our Lord, and with one another. Every knee in that kingdom will bow out of love for and admiration of and dedication to this king. Justice will be there, but it will not be painful as it is in this world, because there will be no sin. Joy will be perfect. We can share our memories of how the Lord has worked in this world, and glory in what he is doing there.

Maybe you're like me, and you long for Narnia, or really Aslan's country, to be real. Here's something to lift your spirits today: Aslan's country is real. We are not yet in it. No one is. But on the last day, we will be taken to it, the saints will rise, we will be made fully alive in Christ, and we will be taken to the new earth -- Aslan's country. You and I will look into the sun without being blinded. We will sing and dance with the angels, and with people of every tribe and nation. Jordan's banks won't be stormy, and you won't have to cast a wishful eye, because you will be there.

If all that isn't worth living for, dying for even, then I don't know what is. Money doesn't satisfy. Power will never gratify. Approval leaves you hungry. But knowing you have riches in heaven, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the approval of the God of Heaven who reigns over everything and is coming back, is more satisfying than anything you've ever dreamed. We may live in the darkness now, but we are the light of the world.

And the Son is rising again.

He reigns.

Meridian

My favorite things...

AKA omnibus books. ;) I had this glorious (and bittersweet) revelation today that in two weeks I will be able to say I am officially 75% of the way done with the Omnibus curriculum. I've made it through semester 1 of omnibus I, semester 2 of omnibus I, semester 1 of omnibus II, semester 2, semester 1, semester 2...all the way to here. Nine semesters down, just three more to go. In honor of this momentous occasion, I'm giving you my top three books from each semester of omnibus I've had. So, you can leave this post with a list of 54 must-read books. If that's too much, I'll put my absolute top ten at the end of the post. And, if you are a student or teacher of omnibus, comment and share your favorites!

For those of you not familiar with the Omnibus, it is a classically-based history, literature  and theology curriculum published by Veritas Press. Throughout each year, the student reads classics, and discusses them in light of history, modern culture, and the Bible. It is truly one of the most rewarding studies for a student of any age (as long as they're at least 12 or 13 ;D). You can find out more about the Omnibus here.

Now, let the list begin!

Omnibus I
Semester 1: The Histories by Herodotus;
                   The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis;
                   Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
Semester 2: The Best Things in Life by Peter Kreeft;
                   The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis;
                   Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Omnibus II
Semester 1: Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney;
                   The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien;
                   The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers
Semester 2: The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer;
                   The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri;
                   The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth

Omnibus III
Semester 1: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens;
                  The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan;
                  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Semester 2: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
                  The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
                  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Omnibus IV
Semester 1: The Iliad by Homer
                  Poetics by Aristotle
                  Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie        
Semester 2: The War with Hannibal by Livy
                  Eclogues by Virgil
                  Metamorphoses by Ovid

Omnibus V

Semester 1: The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri               
                  The City of God by St. Augustine of Hippo
                   A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain

And, while I think I could make projections...I still have three semesters left before I tell you anything final. ;) That in mind, here are my current top-ten Omnibus books (these are ones that you may love or hate, but you have no choice: they must be read). Please note that some books mentioned above may be more beneficial, but classics, generally speaking, are all beneficial, and the ones I list below are simply my favorites, where a favorite is measured by rereading (and not by force XD), thus they are listed in descending order of how many times I've read them. ;)

Top Ten Omnibus Books

1. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

2. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

4. Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney

5. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

6. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens


7. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare


8. The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth

9. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

10. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

And those, my friends, are books you must read. You'll learn to love foreign worlds, hate rings, appreciate the simple joys in life, fight monsters, play mind games with demons (or rather, avoid playing them); you'll love and hate the same person, deal with betrayal and freedom, find out things about England you never knew before, find yourself more horrified with hell and in love with heaven than ever before, and you may just encounter Mr. Darcy. Let me know how it goes.

Meridian

Enough.

I've had it. This is the last straw. For years I've said I'd be involved in politics, be a champion for what is good. I'd always imagined that it would happen under a president I could trust; I thought my launchpad into the career world would be one with firm backing for my staunch belief in freedom. I thought I would finish high school, go to college, and head into the world with a spring in my step. Yet, what I'm getting is far different.

Barack Obama has shown himself these past four years to be a man whose word we cannot trust. Read anything about Benghazi, Obamacare...you name it, and he's missed the mark. His politics are politics in every sense of the word. He says we will have increased self-governance, but more government institutions have been activated. He claims we are united, but pursues it only in greater government. A contradiction to his previous claim? Just maybe. He pleads that we will have a stronger military, yet cuts our military budget millions. He screams "freedom," and denies it to the youngest of us all. His cry? We must pursue our dreams and be united. Yet the past four years have been years of dissension and economic downturn.Take it or leave it,  President Obama has let the nation down.

Everyone knows the facts. If all we can do is keep looking at the overhanging past, though, and the dark future, we have no hope. In that case, freedom really is a lost cause, because freedom can only be lost when you cease to pursue its dream. No, leaving behind the American dream is not an option, and that's why over the next four years, Americans must pursue it with intensified passion.

Barack Obama will increase government dependency. Americans must create new jobs, and fight the debt cycle.

Barack Obama will encourage medical malpractice. Americans must seek the justice of the people, no matter the cost.

Barack Obama will make hard deals with foreign nations. Americans must rise above such low standards in their relations within the state.

Then America will stand closer to the American dream. And when we do, maybe we'll start to realize that Barack Obama isn't all he says to be -- in fact, he's worse. But, if we dare to face injustice in the eye, calling it what it is, and doing everything in our human power to oppose it, we might just see the light. Justice cannot be suppressed forever: evil is weak. The American people are not.

For me, I'm going to go ahead and get my college degree. I'm going to pursue the good of the people. And, moreover, I'm going to see Americans realizing their true identity: not world-changers, world-makers. Together, under God's omnipotent hand, America really can become and remain the greatest nation in all the world. But, it's going to take some help.

 

Are you willing?

Scratch that...

Apparently writing something every day doesn't happen too easily when I'm in the thick of the school year! :) But, I've decided to try to keep (loosely) to my word, and as such I am offering you this essay. Lord willing, I'll post a follow-up this weekend to show you *where* I'm seeing the political connection. =D

Meridian

Love and Glory: The Final Judge

            Glory has been a life-and-death word for many people. The ancient Greeks saw death in battle as the height of all glory; the Crusaders pursued the glory of God; modern terrorists are willing to go out of their way to achieve glory for their countries, themselves, or the gods they worship. Certainly, the human race pours a great deal of time, effort, energy, and sacrifice into glory. Yet, this engrossment with a single word, the world’s fascination with five letters, begs a question: why? As broad of a question as it may seem to be, perhaps the real answer lies in another single word: love. In his City of God, St. Augustine of Hippo proposes that two very different, but intertwined cities exist among humanity: namely, the city of God, and the city of man.^[1] These two cities, he suggests, are built entirely on two very different loves. This essay examines what those loves are, their Biblical nature, and what St. Augustine has to say about them.

            “Accordingly, two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self.” (477, Book XIV.28) So begins one of the most definitive passages in Augustine’s most exhaustive work. The loves of these cities, he says, have become so deeply rooted that whatever does not meet the end of their love is held in contempt -- the word one dictionary defines as “willful disobedience.” (Merriam-Webster.com, “contempt”) In this passage, a sort of three-point outline is developed: first, there are two cities; second, they have two loves; finally, there are two Biblical passages that provide archetype-images of each city. The two cities are referred to as the city of God, and the city of man, where they are likewise defined by the love of God and the love of man. Serving as vivid depictions of each city are Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 15. A marked difference is easily seen between the two passages, which, when compared, show the incredible dissimilarity between the cities.To understand why Augustine makes the claims he does, and offers the Scriptures named, a consideration of the two Biblical passages mentioned will be helpful.

            Say something enough times, and people will start to believe it. While this line is often thrown around relating to communism, politics, and marketing, it can be just as easily applied to the way people fall into sin. Of course, all human beings are born with sin, but becoming a VIP in the city of man is taking it to a new level.  It is a process of believing lies, and forsaking righteousness. Romans 1:21 explains what happens when a person reaches this standard of ungodliness. “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”^[2] This is the city of man. As Augustine said, the earthly city loves itself, to the point where it is comfortable holding God in contempt -- disobeying his mandates. (477, Book XIV.28) Romans 1 is very clear in pointing this out. The passage goes on to explain what kinds of actions are a result of a person’s heart falling away from God. Important to Romans 1 is the word darkened, and the many synonyms for it that appear throughout the chapter. The city of man, in all its pomp and circumstance, is by nature a waning candle. Darkness cannot last forever.

            Reality cries out that darkness still exists, though. Many of these various evils are listed -- not exhaustively -- in Romans 1. The passage often speaks of those living in darkness as exchanging one thing for another, or God giving them up to ungodly things. While it would be unreasonable to list all of these wrongdoings in this condensed work, it is enough to say that at least twenty-six individual sins are listed, not counting various synonyms and restatements. Interestingly, a large number of them are sins committed in the heart. Why would this be, except that some kind of love is motivating all these sins? The heart is the center of love and hatred: a sin of the heart must, by inference, be driven by love or hatred. It is in this that Augustine begins to be proven correct, because as he said that the city of man is the worship of self, so it says in Romans 1:25, “...they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator...”  Worship, as it is used in theology, is bringing glory to a thing or being. The city of man brings glory only to itself, exchanging God’s eternal glory for something temporal. This, however, leaves the reader hanging. If the citizens of the city of man sin extensively just because of their loyalty to themselves, what happens to the citizens of the city of God? What do they get?

            If Romans 1 was about the fall of ungodly people, then 1 Corinthians 15 is about the restoration of godly people. Romans 1 talked about the subjection of the ungodly to sin; 1 Corinthians 15 talks about the raising up of the godly from sin. In this glorious passage is the description of Christ’s coming and reign. All shall be in subjection to him, and none shall be exempt from his rule. The city of God is God’s kingdom, his people, and his royal priesthood. As it says in Philippians 2:10-11, “...every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” 1 Corinthians 15 affirms this by saying that God will put all things under his authority. The defining factor of the city of God, as in the city of man, is its worship: its deepest love. St. Augustine describes it by saying, “[in the city of God] there is no human wisdom, but only godliness, which offers due worship to the true God...” (477, Book XIV.28) Human wisdom, in all its grandeur, is but a speck in the eyes of the citizens of the city of God; thus, the true citizen will worship the one whose glory is significant.

            What, then are the marks of this true and holy worship? 1 Corinthians 15 is a telescope, revealing the vast expanse of the glory of God.  As defined in this passage, true worship in the city of God is marked by hope and faith. After an explanation of why Christ must be raised, and the hopelessness that would ensue if he did not, Paul comes to this joyous conclusion: “But in fact Christ has been raised...” In just a few sweet words, the tone is overflowing with joy, driven by faith in the hope of Christ. His rule, authority, and glory are of the highest value to the true citizen. This is the city of God.

            The city of man loves itself; it rules itself; it glories in itself. The city of God loves God; it is ruled by God; it gives glory to God. As Augustine put it, “...the one seeks glory from men; but the greatest glory of the other is God, the witness of conscience. The one lifts up its head in its own glory; the other says to its God, ‘Thou art my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.’” (477, Book XIV.28) The city of man loves ruling, and the city of God loves serving. Truly, the difference is in loves. In Luke 12:34 Jesus affirms this, saying, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” The question may still be raised, however, of why Augustine chose these particular passages over all others. Answering this query is taking a walk in the art gallery of Scripture. Throughout the Bible, many glorious pictures are painted of the city of God; many horrendous ones, too, of the city of man. Each is formed by the dipping of a pen into a pigment determined by love. One is a deep black, stained with the sins of the world. Many passages describe individual scenes worked by the city of man, but none so clearly and vividly realize as Romans 1 that what drives these evil lusts is not human glory itself, but the love of self. Likewise, there is a hue of stain that covers the citizens in the city of God: and this stain is crimson. Even more passages throughout the Holy Word of God create a mural of the grace of God, yet none is so distinctly and beautifully opposite Romans 1 as 1 Corinthians 15. These murals throughout Scripture, and their transparency, are the clear reason for Augustine’s choosing them to represent the city of man and the city of God.

            Since the beginning of time, the human race has seemingly been on an epic quest for glory. Yet, as St. Augustine so sagely uncovers, the quest has never been for this. Glory is merely the overflow of the heart’s deepest love. Two cities exist among humanity: one, its own; the other, the Lord’s. The city of man, represented in Romans 1, is driven by a love of itself -- a love that every moment hurls it further from the truth. The city of God, portrayed in 1 Corinthians 15, is invigorated by a love of its Creator -- a Creator who every moment draws his city closer to its eternal glory. Each city is a painting of love in the Bible; the actions pursuant of glory are only a result of these loves. Indeed, love defines each city, and every occupant in it. Each will receive its reward, but in the end, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is truly Lord.

Works Cited

¹ All City of God references and quotations taken from:

Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo. The City of God. Book XIV.28. (New York: Random House, 1950-1993), 477. Merton, Thomas (editor)

² Contempt. (2012) Merriam-webster.com. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Retrieved September 26, 2012, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contempt

³ Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good New Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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^[1] All Augustine references taken from The City of God. See Works Cited page.

^[2] All Scripture references ESV. See Works Cited page.

30 Crucial Days

Yes, folks, in case you missed it...we now have thirty days until the November elections! (And yes, I am counting today and election day). So, since I'm a political nerd at times, I'm going to do my best to get something posted every day that's election-related. Today, it's a mandate (debater in me coming out, I know).

Mandate #1: Register to vote.

I'm assuming all my readers 18 and over are registered voters. But if you aren't, today is the last day (generally). Do it! And if you are registered, make sure all your evangelical, conservative friends are also registered. Some elections literally come down to a few votes...we don't want to lose on account of a few friends forgetting to register!

So...register to vote.

Meridian

When God stops being God

Have you ever stopped just long enough to think about what would happen if God stopped being God?  What it would mean for mankind, the earth, the sun...the universe? It's actually a pretty scary thought, and if you have taken the time to reflect on it, you'll know that it's not an easy question to consider. There are so many facets, so many problems that could arise...but don't worry. You don't have to think through all that right now, because Augustine already did it for you. 

In his City of God, the well-known saint refers to Cicero's argument that men have free will, and God, as a result, cannot have foreknowledge. This seems like a logical argument enough, from the perspective of every day human reasoning.  After all, if we have free will, or power over our "domains" (and it is apparent that we do), then God cannot at the same time have foreknowledge, or an eternal understanding of what each person will do in every situation. For him to do that would mean that we would be robots. So, Cicero's right, end of story.

Thankfully, though, Augustine puts his foot down right where Cicero leaves off. See, he says, "...he both denies the the foreknowledge of God, and attempts by vain arguments...to overthrow all prophecy, even such as is clearer than the light..." And right here we, as Christians, have an interesting dilemma. If we believe Cicero's seemingly logical claim, then we must deny the lordship of Jesus Christ. We know him to be the Messiah because it has been prophesied. Augustine points out that prophecy is...foreknowledge. So, Cicero, at the very least, must make an exception for prophecy. 

I'm not sure if Augustine was chuckling or snarling as he wrote his next paragraph, but at any rate he showed what is unquestionably the most serious flaw in Cicero's thinking: If he's right, the Bible's wrong. And if the Bible's wrong...God. Isn't. God.

See, the Scriptures tell us outright that God is omniscient. This is Latin for all-knowing (for an explanation, see my series on the beauty of English). We hold the Bible to be inerrant, so this means that if what we believe is true...God must, by necessity, have foreknowledge.

This takes us to something Cicero says before reaching his conclusion. The problem, he points out, is that if God knows everything beforehand, we cannot possibly have free will. We've already taken out his other point, so let's examine this. What is free will? Basically, it is the idea that we have some kind of power and freedom over our lives and choices. As interesting as it would be to try to imagine a world where God planned every decision we'd make, it just doesn't work that way. That would be saying that we are robots, and that God plans sin, because we all sin by nature. God, being a perfectly righteous being, cannot make us sin.

Once again, Cicero's wrong...and Augustine's right. Before we examine the implications of this, though, let's take a quick rabbit-trail and put forward some clarifying definitions. A lot of people easily get the concepts of predestination and foreknowledge mixed up. By definition, foreknowledge is the idea that God knows everything we will do in advance. Predestination is an relative of foreknowledge (the common ancestor being the future), wherein God mysteriously chooses those who are his elect, regardless of actions or opinions on earth, only dependent on his grace to save.

With that cleared up, let's look briefly at the implications of this dual-theology. How does it work that God knows everything, but allows us freedom? The answer is that we can't quite know. What I'll do to try to help you understand this, though, is to give you two of everything: two analogies, two do-not's, and two to-do's.

First, our analogies. My favorite one that I've heard from a variety of people is this: God is the author, we are his characters. He's writing a book, and he knows exactly what his will is, and where his story is going to end up. But, as a good author, he lets us put in our own dialogue, choices, preferences, rabbit-trails on his story, even. Everything is accomplished for his purposes in the end, but we are free-roaming characters all the same. The exception to this rule, of course, is for those who have not seen the light. As Martin Luther put it, their wills are in bondage to sin. The other analogy I like, though it may be a little more philosophical, is the analogy that we are given "domains" to rule in and subdue (Genesis) because we are made in God's image. God is all-knowing and all-powerful. If we are made in God's image, and he is all-knowing and all-powerful, then we must have some kind of knowledge and power. It's part of his design.

Okay, analogies: check! Now to look at what we should not do with this theology. First, don't take the analogy of the clockmaker, or with this exact theology, a variant of it. What this variant does is it says that since God knows everything, he winds up the clock of the world and lets it go, knowing what'll happen anyway. (The traditional version is that he sits back and watches to see what will happen). Now, this clockmaker mentality, while supporting our theology on the surface, doesn't match up underneath. The theology Augustine suggests is rooted in God's character. The clockmaker approach is rooted in our theology. God's character is loving and involved, because he is love. Viewing God as a clockmaker is deistic. 

Another mistake not to make is that of over-emphasizing either foreknowledge or free will, while forgetting the other one entirely. The problem with this is that it is not balanced, and against God's nature because God is a God of order, of which balance is a part. Practically speaking, this doesn't work, because either the person doing this will end up abusing free will and falling into deeper and deeper sin, while forgetting the grace of God; or he will end up abusing God's foreknowledge and doing nothing to advance the Gospel of grace.

So we know what Cicero said, how Augustine replied, who was right and why, what it looks like, and what we should not do with it. That leaves one more question: what should we do? My first piece of advice is look at this as both an opportunity to get to know God and yourself better, understanding the nature of each in its proper place. Because, as Augustine points out, without foreknowledge a god cannot be God, and and without free will humans cannot be human. (For more on what this means, see my post "Conquistadors"). So rejoice and get to know yourself, and the God who created you, at a whole new level! 

Finally, take Augustine seriously when he says, "Love God, do as you please." In other words, if you love God, you will seek, in your realization of his foreknowledge and out of your free will, to do his will.

Grace and Peace.

Meridian

Ramblings

When a baby is born, a gift is given to the world in the strange form of an angelic sinner, if ever there was such a thing. The tiny being which the mother tenderly caresses has the power to change the world for better or for worse, and to leave the world as it is for better or for worse. I was once a baby, I was born the world-changing sort, and I fancy it for the better. My allotted task, for truly every man has an assignment, is to see to it that more little world-changers are born by ending their intended fatalities; then I must pray that they change the world for God's glory. But whether I win this battle, or set up the chessmen for someone else to win in my stead, I must remember the faithful words of Winston Churchill: "Never, never, never give up."