There is an interesting statement I have heard a number of times, “Go back to where the axe head fell off.” This advice comes from II Kings 6:5 in The Book of Heaven, The Bible.
“But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, ‘Alas, my master! For it was borrowed’.” This reference is suggesting we stop, look at our lives, and ask, “Where did I go wrong?” We could ask the same question for our nation, “Where did we start down the wrong path?” Often times there is wisdom in looking back to see how things got so far off the track.
Where did things start going wrong in America? We know that many early American settlers who were looking for freedom and a place to worship according to the dictates of their own hearts came to this continent. These people left Europe looking for a new beginning. They left Europe with noble idealism.
Every surveyor knows that with only the slightest deviation what started out only millimeters apart eventually becomes a great divide. We are a very long way away from the idealistic dreams our forefathers had when they envisioned coming to the New World.
There were great men and women, such as Roger Williams, who had the true heart of The Creator and who attempted to lay out a vision that embraced the First Nation people in America. Williams sought to honor the sacred history the Natives Americans. There were men and women who knew what was right and demonstrated the character of Jesus Christ which is unqualified love and empathy. They believed that ALL men where created equal and were endowed by their Creator with the unalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It was our Creator’s desire to see this land as a place of freedom, peace, and equality across all cultures, races, and ethnicities and to allow the dictates of each man’s heart to lead him or her into their worship of Him.
We want revival, we want reformation. To see these take place we must go back as a church, as Christians as people of this land and ask God to heal us and the deep wound that still exists in the heart and soul of our Native brothers and sisters.
If you study your own family history and find some great injustice I am sure there will be a pang of sorrow to realize what was done to your family. We need to realize that prior to the european invasion there were as many as one million indigenous human beings on Turtle Island. (North America). By 1890-1910 that number had dropped two hundred and fifty people. That means that seven hundred and fifty people died due to our arrival. This happened due to sickness and disease that was brought from Europe, massacres, malnutrition due to losing hunting and fishing lands and lakes and exposure to the elements due to taking away traditional villages and homes.
Now we must stop and go to where the Axe Head fell off, follow our way through the corridors of time, and repent, asking The Creator to forgive us. We must acknowledge where we failed to live up to His ideal and plan for this amazing country we call home.
“But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, ‘Alas, my master! For it was borrowed’.” This reference is suggesting we stop, look at our lives, and ask, “Where did I go wrong?” We could ask the same question for our nation, “Where did we start down the wrong path?” Often times there is wisdom in looking back to see how things got so far off the track.
Where did things start going wrong in America? We know that many early American settlers who were looking for freedom and a place to worship according to the dictates of their own hearts came to this continent. These people left Europe looking for a new beginning. They left Europe with noble idealism.
Every surveyor knows that with only the slightest deviation what started out only millimeters apart eventually becomes a great divide. We are a very long way away from the idealistic dreams our forefathers had when they envisioned coming to the New World.
There were great men and women, such as Roger Williams, who had the true heart of The Creator and who attempted to lay out a vision that embraced the First Nation people in America. Williams sought to honor the sacred history the Natives Americans. There were men and women who knew what was right and demonstrated the character of Jesus Christ which is unqualified love and empathy. They believed that ALL men where created equal and were endowed by their Creator with the unalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It was our Creator’s desire to see this land as a place of freedom, peace, and equality across all cultures, races, and ethnicities and to allow the dictates of each man’s heart to lead him or her into their worship of Him.
We want revival, we want reformation. To see these take place we must go back as a church, as Christians as people of this land and ask God to heal us and the deep wound that still exists in the heart and soul of our Native brothers and sisters.
If you study your own family history and find some great injustice I am sure there will be a pang of sorrow to realize what was done to your family. We need to realize that prior to the european invasion there were as many as one million indigenous human beings on Turtle Island. (North America). By 1890-1910 that number had dropped two hundred and fifty people. That means that seven hundred and fifty people died due to our arrival. This happened due to sickness and disease that was brought from Europe, massacres, malnutrition due to losing hunting and fishing lands and lakes and exposure to the elements due to taking away traditional villages and homes.
Now we must stop and go to where the Axe Head fell off, follow our way through the corridors of time, and repent, asking The Creator to forgive us. We must acknowledge where we failed to live up to His ideal and plan for this amazing country we call home.
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