After Cowpens

I see my children playing in a field once soaked with blood.  Laughter and joy exuberantly skip and leap down a road that was once trod with thunderous blasphemies and violence against human life.  Now the grass grows tall and the children play where the wild turkeys strut and memorials decay.  Cowpens, a battle not wanted yet masterfully planned.  Both sides praying to the same God in the same language yet one side would not win.  One hour and souls hurled into eternity left bodies broken, shattered by the hate that flew intent on death.  One hour and wounded men lay scarred and marred by mettle bound enshrined by epic lore. One hour to walk the one mile loop and let the children enjoy a warm summer day.  A little sprinkle from the clouds then sunshine falls on a wooden silhouette representing a Patriot sniper that set his sights on British brass. The end of the mile comes.  Reflection starts.  I watch the children play and I am glad.  I hope the field once soaked with blood enjoys the innocence that now skips and leaps upon its lay.  Their freedom fearfully forged by those who were willing to die yet did all they could to stand hoping to see their children play.  The freedom now enjoyed is the fruit of hope sown in suffering.

Reap the harvest and prepare to sow.

And the War Rages On

I met a doctoral candidate at the university while waiting for a friend outside of the dinning common. It turns out that he was a missionary to Germany. His ministry was focused on starting churches in communities located in the eastern part of Germany. I became very curious and began asking him questions about the challenges he faced sharing the gospel in Germany. He mentioned that the historically socialist environment as well as the current cultural climate had resulted in an entrenched atheistic perspective of life. He spent most of his time proclaiming the gospel and providing and promoting literature that gave a rational defense for the existence of God. He lamented at the fact that most people think that the concept of God is irrational and consider anyone who believes in God to be foolish. He said that Ben Stein was ridiculed for being in a video that promoted intelligent design as a more viable scientific alternative to evolution. I asked him if he saw similar attitudes here in the U.S. He mentioned that the same rhetoric that promotes the atheism in Europe is also found here. It left me thinking of our future as a nation founded on the principle of religious freedom.