Hold Fast

Read Revelation 2&3

In his concession speech on Tuesday, Republican presidential candidate John McCain noted that a historic event of epic proportions had unfolded before our eyes.

"This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight. I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too. But we both recognize that though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound. A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth. Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer in my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day, though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise. Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country, and I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face. I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our differences, and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited. Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that."1

It was a gracious speech, and I was deeply moved by Senator McCain’s humble words. The election of the first African-American to the office of President of the United States of America is truly a historic event. It would have been a historic event no matter what party the candidate represented: Republican, Independent or Democrat. I’m not here tonight representing any specific political party or candidate. I’m here tonight as a child of God who has witnessed the unfolding of human events and seen in it the activity of God. And because God has been at work in our world in such a visible way, I feel compelled to give testimony to that event tonight. To overlook such a mighty work would be a sin.

I want to be clear. I’m not talking about the election of Barack Obama. I’m talking about the progress that has been made in the thinking of a nation and in the triumph of truth, justice and love over ignorance, prejudice and fear.

A hundred years ago, most African-Americans could not vote because they could not read. They weren’t allowed to attend public schools, so they couldn’t get the education and training needed to pull themselves out of the poverty that years of slavery had created. That was the world our parents and grandparents grew up in. To us it may seem like years ago, but to those who were there, it was just yesterday.
Our parents and grandparents grew up in a world where racial segregation, prejudice, and hatred were the norm. Our entire nation believed that African-Americans were lesser than. It wasn’t just white America that believed this. Our entire nation had been deceived. And don’t be mistaken: this belief that African-Americans counted as a mere 3/5 of a person2 (and who are we kidding, it was actually 3/5 of a white man!) – that belief came straight out of the mind of Satan! God was not in it. God created all of humanity in God’s own image and said it was good! It was the Devil himself who convinced us that some are better than others. Evil had infiltrated our land and corrupted every aspect of American life and culture.

The rules were enforced with fear, violence, and unjust laws. Those who dared to even THINK differently about people of color could face life-threatening consequences! And yet some still chose a different way.

Some were convinced of the truths they found in scripture: that people are conceived first in the mind of God, that all people are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that Jesus Christ came so that the whole world might have full and abundant lives in this world and in the next!

Some were convinced of the truth. So they held fast. They held fast to the truth, even when everyone around them said they were wrong. They held fast to their convictions, even when it cost them jobs and friends and sometimes even the Church. They held fast to their faith, even when they were beaten and tortured for it. They held fast. They held on. And they held out. They stood for equality and justice and freedom. They held fast. They stood firm. They endured with patience as the world slowly changed around them.

Because that’s what happens when the people of God hold fast. When people of faith hold fast to the truth, the world begins to change.

Much has happened in our country in the last 100 years. President-elect Barack Obama offers this recap:

"And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow. This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old. She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin. And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can. At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can. When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can. When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can. She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can. A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can. America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made? This is our chance to answer that call."3

Much has changed in the last 100 years. But as both presidential candidates noted on Tuesday, we still have much to do. Your children will very likely live to see the next century. What changes will they see? What progress would you like to see us make in the future?

Some may believe these dreams of ours are futile, overly idealistic, and absolutely impossible to achieve. But the book of Revelation tells us to hold fast. Hold fast to what you have been given. Hold fast to the truth. Hold fast to what is right. Hold fast to faith. Hold fast to God. Hold fast to service. Hold fast with patient endurance (2:19).

Ghandi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

These are troubled times, and we may face many difficult days in the future. Times of testing will come. We may see times of feast and famine. Days of plenty and days of despair. We may be imprisoned, tortured, and made to suffer all kinds of indignities. But there will be a reward, in this life and in the next.

Progress comes when people of God hold fast to their faith. Sometimes, all it takes to slay a dragon is patient endurance. I’m not saying it will be easy, but the rewards are many: a world where God’s will is done and all the comforts of heaven await those who stay the course. Hold fast.

1 Concession speech delivered by Senator John McCain on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Published on the McCain-Palin 2008 website at http://www.johnmccain.com/splash110408.html. Downloaded November 6, 2008.
2 United States Constitution, Article 1, section 2.
3 Election night speech delivered by President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Published on the Barack Obama and Joe Biden website at http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/ gGx3Kc. Downloaded November 6, 2008.