The War To End All Wars

TITLE: The War To End All Wars
DATE: November 15 2018
TEXT: Ps. 33: 12, 22 (ESV) - Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,     the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!  22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,     even as we hope in you.
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It was to have been the “War to End All Wars” and the boys from Prince George’s County in Maryland were determined to do their part in, how did President Wilson say it, “making the world safe for democracy.”
I assume all did their part. I know 49 of those boys gave their all and never came home.
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Those who did return, along with mourning families and friends, thought it would be appropriate, since the bodies of the fallen are buried on foreign soil, to have some kind of monument, some type of place to serve as a focus of remembrance.

Using contributions from local donors and the American Legion, in 1925, a 40 foot memorial in the form of a cross was built on a busy intersection in the town of Blandensburg. In 1961 the State of Maryland took over the monument and the land upon which it stood. Since then the state has spent $117,000 on upkeep and repair.

Of course that was then, and this is now.

A few years back, in 2012, the American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit which said the Memorial sitting on public land was clearly a case of the government showing favoritism to  a certain religion, and therefore against the Constitution. Last year a divided three-judge panel from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed saying, “for thousands of years the Latin cross has represented Christianity."[1]

On the other hand the American Legion says the memorial reflects the government erected and maintained cross-shaped markers on the graves of many soldiers buried all around the world. A separate petition filed by Maryland State Officials say it is a “Peace Cross” and it  has been a source of civic unity for almost 100 years.

Now you Daily Devotioners might wonder if there is an end to this battle. I can tell you, “Yes, there will be a legal end to this particular disagreement.” Early next year the Supreme Court will hear the pros and cons of the case. May the Lord give them the wisdom of Solomon… let’s make that “wisdom exceeding Solomon’s.”

No matter what the Court decides, we must remember the greatest battle as to the Lord’s value in our lives goes on in the hearts of humankind. That is the real “war to end all wars.”

• Which I why I wonder: “Is this great land the product of our own will and dreaming, or has the Lord been instrumental in its forming?
• Are all the blessings we enjoy merely the result of luck and happenstance or has the Lord given us a purpose?
• Do we intend to go back in history and write the Lord out of every event; and if we do shall we be shocked if He writes us out of the future?

I know what I believe needs to happen; and I know how I shall be praying. We shall keep you informed on future events. 

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, very few people expect any US court to proclaim You as the only Lord and Jesus as the Savior Who forgives and rescues lost souls. That being said, do not let us as a nation, or as individuals, minimize the love, the grace and guidance You have given to us. This I pray in the Name of Jesus Who alone is the way, truth and light Amen.

The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written by Pete Williams on November 2, 2018 for ABC NEWS . Those who wish to reference those articles may do so at the following link, which was fully functional at the time this devotion was written: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-agrees-hear-dispute-over-giant-cross-n930641


[1] Historically impossible since it is less than 2000 years since the Christ was crucified.