"Able and Willing"

For this reason I kneel before the Father,  Ephesians 3:14

A few weeks ago, a video was making the rounds through social media of a young man in the hospital being visited by the President and First Lady. The young man was shot in the leg during the recent shooting in Las Vegas and was among the over 500 people injured during this horrible event. As the video begins, The First Lady enters his room and the young man begins getting out of bed. The First Lady is caught off guard by his getting up and encourages him to stay in his bed. He remains on his feet, although obviously in pain, until he shakes the hand of The President. He did not say whether he had voted for the President in the election, agreed with his policies, or respected him as a person. He was simply standing to honor his country and the man who has been chosen to lead.

Each Sunday at our church, as our Pastor begins to read from God’s Word, he says to the congregation, “If you are able to stand and willing to stand, please stand for the reading of God's Word”. I love that he asks everyone to stand and I understand that there may be several in attendance who are not able to stand.  But, I always wonder why he adds the “and willing to stand” to his statement. I always say, under my breath, “and if you are not willing, you may be in the wrong place”. I wonder if there is anyone who is not willing and if so, why are they not willing to stand in honor of God’s Word. When we stand as our Pastor reads the scripture, we are not standing because we love our church, think our Sunday School Class is awesome, are honoring the beautiful building, or to even say we love our Pastor. We are standing to demonstrate to God alone that we honor His divine words and unless you truly are not able, you should always be "willing".

For the past few months in our country we have heard the constant media reports of how many pro athletes stood or knelt during the National Anthem. This issue is such a prominent topic of discussion that I have even lost a bit of interest in watching the games. Everyone has an opinion on these player’s rights as American citizens to stand or not, and I am certainly no different. I believe we each have a right to stand or not, whether to honor a country or for the reading of scripture.  However, I believe the people who refuse to stand for the National Anthem are missing the true reason for standing and honoring our country. When I stand and place my right hand over my heart for the singing of our National Anthem, I am not saying I agree with everything in our country. I am not pledging my blind allegiance to our President, flag or country. I am not saying that our country does not have areas of injustice that must be recognized and corrected. What I am saying is that I love and honor a country that gives a person the right to sit on a knee, stare at the ground and disrespect the symbol of our country and our freedom. I also stand as our Pastor reads from scripture because I want to show my love, respect and honor to my Heavenly Father who also gives me the freedom to disrespect His word. I could remain seated and show total disrespect but He will continue to love me, regardless. 

The young man in the video could have remained in his bed and refused to acknowledge the President but he did not and it spoke volumes about his character.  Many of the pro athletes have continued to stand for our National Anthem. They have done so while still using their platform to bring awareness to the social injustices in our country, speaking volumes about their character as well.  And, when it comes to God's Word, as long as I am physically able, I will always be "willing" to stand in honor of God's Word so I can one day kneel in His presence. 

Chad