Hope

Douglass' "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" is one of the most biting and blunt things I have read in a while. He slaps around the United States and her citizens pretty thoroughly... not unjustly either. But I did find myself thinking, as I read, that he was being a bit harsh on his own country. He seemed to think the U.S. gone beyond repair. But then, on the last page, he states the following, "Notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented, of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country... I leave off where I began, with hope."

I know that not many people like to talk about politics or government or anything of the sort, so I will make this brief, but this reminds me much of our country today. It doesn't take much looking around before you find something wrong in this nation. There are more problems and injustices than you can count. But instead of focusing on the negative and dumping the blame on the nearest political figure or party, how much better would it be if we chose to pray for our nation, to serve our fellow citizens, and to seek to bring hope to a nation that needs it.

There IS cause for concern in America today. But we have hope in Christ. He can still do great things through our country and in our country.