A Day We Remember

Politicians are always trying to drum up support and public opinion for their causes.  They can't pass laws, so they have to convince the public to put pressure on their representatives to get the job done.  Teddy Roosevelt said that he had a "Bully Pulpit"for making his case.  In that effort sometimes politicians use a declaration of war to try to communicate that they are serious about something.  So we get the War on Poverty, or the War on Drugs, but no one, not even the politician making the declaration believes that it's the same thing as a real war.

When a real war is declared, the country is saying "We are all in." We have an enemy.  It is them and we want the world to know it.  We will make sacrifices and do what it takes to see this through.  Such was the case after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  There was no turning back.  President Franklin Roosevelt called it a day that will live in infamy and we remember it this time every year.  The US joined the war in an effort involving sacrifices both nationally and for each individual.

Of course, there is another day that we remember at this time of year.  We often think of Christmas as a time of Peace, not a time of war.  But that really depends on your perspective.  I often think of the Old Testament in the Bible and God's way of showing us that it just doesn't work.  Whatever you are thinking, apart from God humanity can't work.

Living as slaves, living as freemen, nomads in the desert with manna falling from the sky, living under judges, living under kings, living as conquerors, living as refugees, living with prophets wiping it all out and starting over.  None of it woks.  At best people will follow good for a little bit, then it all falls apart again.  Christmas remembers the time when God said that enough was enough and it was time to bring his children home.

Watch this clip from Pastor Mike.

And the battle begins.  The final assault was started by a baby in a stable surrounded by shepherds.  It seems a little different than d-day, but it has worked out well so far.