Are We There Yet? - A More Perfect Union
How did President Biden's speech and the poem Amanda Gorman recited affect you?
Were you inspired?
Did it invoke in you a desire to do better or to behave better?
Did it invoke in you a desire to strive for a more perfect union?
A union where people of different nationalities and religions live together in peace and harmony.
Where we are
Putting politics aside, the Inauguration Ceremony last week will be one that the world will always remember. It was different in so many ways, and the first of many things was achieved on that day, January 20, 2021.
Among the things we witnessed, these four stood out:
In no uncertain terms, President Biden gave an impassioned plea for all of us to work together as Americans. He said we do not need to agree with each other, but we need to listen to and respect each other’s opinions and viewpoints. There is no need to be nasty and hostile.
Vice President Harris is the first woman to become vice president. She is the first African American and Asian to hold this Augustine position.
Our young orator, Amanda Gorman, wowed us all with the poem she recited. She is the youngest inaugural poet to speak at such a ceremony. She was insightful, polished, poised, and mature. Who knew this could come from someone so young?!
Also, in the Senate, we had some firsts. Our first black pastor, Senator Warnock, and the first senator of Jewish descent, Senator Ossoff from Georgia, are now serving in the Senate.
Does this not prove that there is nothing impossible here in America? Wouldn’t you agree this is a step to developing a more perfect union?
If we strive for a more perfect union, we can achieve it. It may take decades or even centuries, but it can happen. People of all races and nationalities can be whatever they want to be as long as they set their minds on achieving it. The opportunity is there if they work hard for it.
Just as the President wants us here to work together in the United States, he wants the world to do the same. We are only as strong as our weakest link. There is a lot to do. There are a lot of bridges that need to be rebuilt. This is when the word strive comes in. We need to work at forming a more perfect union with unceasing determination.
Remember what Amanda said in her oration,
“And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine but that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect. We are striving to forge a union with purpose; to compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man.”
Where we are headed
The Trinity is a perfect Union; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are three separate personalities and serve three separate functions, but they are one God whom we serve.
In the same vein, as Christians, we strive to be perfect as our Lord is perfect (Matthew 5:48). We need to strive to be one as the Trinity is One. We know that true perfection will not be attained until the Lord returns, but we are to work towards it as our Lord commanded.
We should not use our differences to divide us but instead use our differences to enrich each others’ lives in order to draw us closer together.
We need to be tolerant of each other. Just because someone is from a different race or nationality does not negate solutions that they can offer towards forming a more perfect union. We must all learn how to work together.
Not only should we be tolerant of each other, but we should also look out for each other. Doing so fosters goodwill and closeness, a feeling of being valued, which will ultimately lead to people’s willingness to work together.
We are to be concerned about others just as we are concerned about ourselves, especially in this pandemic where people have so many needs. Are we thinking only of ourselves, or are we looking to meet the needs of those who are less fortunate than us?
Remember the passage from Matthew 25: 35-40,
'For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger, and you invited me in, I needed clothes, and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ This is what I want to hear from my Lord? What about you?
Final Thoughts
In the past month or so, our pastor has been preaching that the church needs to be 'Salt and Light.' We need to be led by upright leaders. Just as the church leaders model how its members should behave, we see the same with President Biden in expressing how he wants US citizens to act.
Let us strive to add value to the people that the Lord has placed in our lives. Let us be Salt and Light. Let us, as President Biden has asked, respect each other. Agree to disagree when we have different perspectives on things. This is difficult to do in our strength, but we can, with the Holy Spirit’s help, form a more perfect union.
