{"id":2763,"date":"2023-07-03T07:43:32","date_gmt":"2023-07-03T11:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=2763"},"modified":"2023-07-03T07:44:33","modified_gmt":"2023-07-03T11:44:33","slug":"gods-champions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2023\/07\/03\/gods-champions\/","title":{"rendered":"God’s Champions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to this reflection as a podcast, <\/em>click here<\/a>.
 
Who was the first president of the United States?<\/em>
 
That may sound like the easiest question on an American history pop quiz.
 
But over the years a surprising number of different answers have been proposed.
 
It really comes down to when America actually became a nation.  The Fourth of July commemorates 1776\u2019s Declaration of Independence<\/em> \u2013 the courageous public statement by key colonial leaders of their intention to break with English rule.  But that was not actually the same thing as launching a new government.
 
Early in 1781, after years of negotiation, the last of the 13 colonies agreed to abide by the Articles of Confederation \u2013 America\u2019s first organizing document.  It became the law of the land on March 1 of that year.   
 
Representatives from each colony promptly elected John Hanson of Maryland (shown above) to be \u201cPresident of the United States in Congress Assembled.\u201d  He was granted a house and a handful of servants, and was assured that his leadership \u201ctakes precedence of all and every person in the United States.\u201d
 
Was Hanson\u2019s authority widely acknowledged?  Here\u2019s a note he received shortly after taking office: \u201cI congratulate your Excellency on your appointment to fill the most important seat in the United States.\u201d  It was signed by none other than George Washington. 
 
Before we begin to wonder if the wrong guy\u2019s face ended up on the one-dollar bill, we should note that Hanson wasn\u2019t particularly thrilled by this role.  After just one week, he felt bored and was ready to walk. 
 
His colleagues, however, talked him into serving his entire one-year term.  Under his leadership, Congress established the Treasury Department, the Great Seal of the United States (which still appears on that same one-dollar bill), and declared that the fourth Thursday of November should annually be \u201ca day of Thanksgiving\u201d \u2013 a decision which would ultimately bring joy to many merchants and the National Football League, but not so much to a considerable number of turkeys.  
 
Six additional one-year presidents served under the Articles of Confederation before America\u2019s official Constitution was adopted in 1788 \u2013 the one that would bring Washington to power. 
 
A few historians have therefore suggested that George was actually our nation\u2019s eighth president.  Others have pointed out that men like Samuel Huntington, Samuel Johnston, and Thomas McKean were, at one time or another, America\u2019s chief executive during a time when our country was struggling to move from a ragtag collection of colonies to a sovereign nation. 
 
What we know for sure is that America\u2019s \u201cfounding generation\u201d was blessed with hundreds of extraordinary leaders. 
 
The spotlight generally shines on just a few \u2013 particularly Washington, John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson.
 
That\u2019s the Iceberg Effect.  In every human endeavor, a small number of players receive the headlines, while the vast majority remain \u201cunder the surface\u201d \u2013 quickly forgotten (like President John Hanson) or hidden entirely from view.  The story of America\u2019s independence couldn\u2019t have happened without them.  But their faces didn\u2019t end up on our currency or their names on local high schools.
 
According to Jesus, something similar is happening in the grand Story of God\u2019s relationship with humanity. 
 
At any given moment, there are a handful of men and women who stand out against the backdrop of spiritual history.  We hear their sermons, read their books, and thrill to their stories of undertaking great tasks for God.  But the vast majority of what is happening at any given moment, and what God is actually accomplishing in the world, is taking place amongst the \u201csupporting cast.\u201d  That would mean the rest of us who are going forward quietly, prayerfully, and sometimes painfully \u2013 under the radar \u2013 one ordinary day after another. 
 
Jesus has a surprise for us.
 
Matthew 20:16 is one of his most striking statements: \u201cSo the last will be first, and the first will be last.\u201d  Theologians call it the Great Reversal.  When God\u2019s kingdom comes in its fullness, we\u2019ll find out that many of the headline-makers were actually entangled by mere sideshows.  The real Story was advancing by means of people who were simply trusting God. 
 
In his short work of fantasy The Great Divorce<\/em>, C.S. Lewis takes us to the suburbs of heaven where, through a narrator and his guide, we have the chance to observe some of those who have graduated to the next world.
 
At one point there is a procession marked by dancing light, scattered flowers, and joyful musicians.  A special lady is approaching.  The narrator is overcome by \u201cthe unbearable beauty of her face.\u201d
 
\u201cIs it?  Is it?\u201d he asks, perhaps thinking he\u2019s experiencing the incredible privilege of seeing the Lord\u2019s own mother.  \u201cNo,\u201d says the guide, \u201cthis is someone you will never have heard of.  She went on earth by the name Sarah Smith.\u201d  Is she a person of particular importance?  \u201cAye,\u201d continues the guide, \u201cshe is one of the great ones.\u201d 
 
If she\u2019s one of the great ones, why hasn\u2019t the narrator ever heard of her?
 
\u201cFame in this country and fame on earth are two different things,\u201d he explains. 
 
She is surrounded by what appear to be her sons and daughters \u2013 not because they were her actual children, but because \u201cevery young man or boy who met her became her son, even if it was only the boy who delivered meat to her back door.\u201d  And \u201cevery girl who met her became her daughter.\u201d  A menagerie of cats, dogs, horses, and birds accompany her as well, because \u201cevery beast that came near her had a place in her love.\u201d  In her presence, such creatures became themselves. 
 
Lewis intends for us to understand that Sarah Smith appeared to be no one special.  She bore no titles and heard no accolades.  Her picture never appeared on a magazine cover.
 
But she is one of God\u2019s great ones<\/em>.  Fame in heaven and fame on earth on two very different things. 
 
It\u2019s no doubt a very good thing that there\u2019s no Discipleship Mount Rushmore \u2013 the chiseled faces of God\u2019s four greatest spiritual heroes.  God alone would know whose faces might belong on such a monument. 
 
In the meantime, the only thing we need to know is that our job assignment is the same today as it will be tomorrow and the next day: 
 
Love God and love others. <\/em>
 
That\u2019s what it means to be one of God\u2019s champions. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. Who was the first president of the United States? That may sound like the easiest question on an American history pop quiz. But over the years a surprising number of different answers have been proposed. It really comes down to when America actually became a nation.  The Fourth of July commemorates 1776\u2019s Declaration of Independence… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2764,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[437],"class_list":["post-2763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-faithfulness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2763"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2766,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2763\/revisions\/2766"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}