Choices for Troubled Times – 3. Redemption and Restoration

BACKGROUND: In the previous blog of this series, Choices for Troubled Times - 2. My Responsibility Matters, we discussed our human tendency to demand our rights and insist that others accept our way of viewing the faults of our fallen world.  At the same time we shirk our individual responsibility to show kindness and contribute in positive ways as stewards of the relationships and institutions that support our culture.  Among the loud voices and angry demonstrations occurring this summer are some with a sincere motive to improve American society. But there are many who are motivated out of selfishness and greed, and who are in fact criminals in need of redemption and restoration.  Part 3 of this series aims to present the good news of how people written off as criminals or victims of crime are finding Redemption and Restoration.

This morning, I was awakened by the brightness of the dawn.  Having slept peacefully for about seven hours without fear of danger, I paused to remember and reflect on the gift of life and the promise of a new day.  To be sure, I’m not a perfect man.  Even when I offer thanks and praise to God, it is only my response to His Spirit already alive within my spirit calling me to walk in step with Him. 

According to the Bible, each person bears God’s image and is created with a spiritual awareness, a capacity to respond to God’s Spirit.  Like a tuning fork used to tune a musical instrument, our spirits are designed to vibrate and resonate in harmony with God’s Spirit so that we are able to walk in step with our Creator.

Thankfully, I am blessed with a family heritage and Christian home environment that led to my submission to God through faith in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for my sin.  My faith and walk with Christ have allowed Him to influence the choices I have made over the past seventy-three years.  Those choices, though not always the best, have led to habits or disciplines, including the blessing of having my first conscious thoughts directed to God in thankfulness for a new day.

But on this same morning, there are many men and women who have awakened to a new day with a different disposition, one ruled by selfishness, greed, anger, malice, and suchlike.  This is not to say that I am a better man than they are.  But the fact is, not all men are blessed with a family heritage and home environment that nurtures them in body, mind, soul, and spirit.  Not everyone is blessed with parents and mentors to help them honor God and make the choice to submit their lives to His love and authority. 

Broken People
Today, people all around us are suffering from bad choices.  Although each were born with the free will to choose rightly, many were born into dysfunctional families and have not had the blessing of godly friends, good schools, or a supportive community.  The following lyrics from Mac Davis, popularized by Elvis Presley, describe the plight of so many children who grow up without the supporting network to shape their character and values:

People, don't you understand
The child needs a helping hand
Or he'll grow to be an angry young man some day?
Take a look at you and me
Are we too blind to see
Do we simply turn our heads,
and look the other way?

Restoring Broken People
During the past century in America, there have been many attempts to restore the brokenness of people who suffer from bad choices and bad decisions of their ancestors and those in leadership in their communities and cities.  The infamous War on Poverty launched by the Johnson administration in the 1960’s illustrates how a government welfare program falls short of having a positive impact.  While it aimed to lift the poor and disadvantaged out of material poverty, it did not address the poverty of their soul and spirit. According to the Cato Institute, this welfare program has cost $15 trillion dollars since its inception in the 1960’s but has scarcely moved the needle on poverty.

The “welfare approach” fails to address human need of love, respect, a sense of dignity, higher education, job skills, and development of character and responsibility.  However, in recent years, the federal government with emphasis on the private sector has begun to recognize these human needs.  Several initiatives, some launched and supported by the Trump administration, are showing success in redemption and restoration of “forgotten people” because they address the needs of the whole person.  Many of these programs were highlighted in the Republican National Convention held this week and are featured in video recordings accessible via C-SPAN.

Living Testimonies of Redemption and Restoration
What follows is a sampling of personal testimonies and video clips that reveal how the lives of broken people are being redeemed spiritually and emotionally, and being restored with dignity and the ability to contribute in meaningful ways to American society.  Just click on the highlighted text to view each.

I watched as President Trump awarded a full pardon to Jon Ponder, a former felon who grew up without a father and made a series of bad choices leading him to serve time for a number of bank robberies.   While serving time, Jon started the non-profit re-entry program called Hope for Prisoners.  In the words of President Trump, “Jon’s life is a beautiful testament to the power of redemption.”

Criminal justice reform advocate, Alice Johnson, once sentenced to life plus 25 years in prison, was released by the efforts of President Trump who later signed legislation called the First Step Act which will allow many like Alice to be pardoned from unreasonable prison sentences.  In Alice’s words, “What I did was wrong.  I made decisions I regret…none of us want to be defined by our worst decisions.  I always knew that God  remembered my name, even in my darkest hour, but I never dreamed that a president would.”

Immigrants to the United States were sworn in as citizens at a naturalization ceremony and were honored for having chosen to complete the legal path to citizenship.

Tera Myers, wife and mother who is also a school choice advocate.  Tera works in support of efforts to allow parents, especially in urban communities with failed schools, to choose a better school for their children so that they may break out of the cycle of poverty to fulfill their God-given purposes.

Jack Brewer directs The Brewer Group, a consulting firm that aims to promote educational programs, health care, agriculture, sports and media, particularly in many of the underserved populations.  Jack is a “former 3-time NFL team captain, college professor, coach, husband, son, and father; and tells the story of his personal successes and struggles.  

Lou Holtz, former Notre Dame and NFL coach explains how his life was fulfilling in spite of his humble beginnings because of the right choices he made in life.

Herschel Walker, Heisman Trophy winner, former NFL football player, bobsledder, sprinter, mixed martial artist, and 37-year close friend of President Trump.

Stacia Brightmon, Marine Corps veteran and single mother of two boys who works in Houston, TX as a warehouse receiving clerk.  After becoming homeless, she applied to a learn-while-you-work apprenticeship program supported by President Trump and daughter Ivanka.

Abby Johnson, formerly a worker at Planned Parenthood, now leads a pro-life ministry called, And Then There Were None (ATTWN), which encourages abortion-clinic workers to make the bold choice to leave the industry.  ATTWN provides financial support and counseling for those who make the right choice.

Two Visions for America—One Involves Redemption
Today, America is deeply divided over what appears to be two major visions for her future.  One vision sees America as an unjust product of colonialism that has never been “great,” and is beyond redemption and restoration.  Seldom included in this truth claim is the truth that only God is great, good, and just.  But God is also merciful.  Lacking belief in this biblical claim of God’s justice and mercy, the first vision of America is darkened by pessimism, selfishness, intolerance, judgment, and even violence toward anyone who disagrees.

The other vision for America, often grounded in biblical truth, recognizes the fallen nature of man.  Therefore, America is “great” not because it she perfect, but because she recognizes she is part of a noble experiment “to form a more perfect union” by eliminating injustices and continually pursuing God in an attitude of humility and repentance.  This vision recognizes that ultimately, individuals are responsible for their actions, and that whole groups or nations are only as good as their citizens. 

Therefore, because God is both just and merciful, we who have received His mercy and forgiveness ought to extend mercy to our neighbor (Matthew 18: 21-35).  Many of those whom I have referenced in this article are living by this truth and are acting as channels and “stewards of God’s grace in its various forms (1 Peter 4: 10).  May their stories inspire us all to a positive outlook, and to an awareness that, as stewards of God’s grace and  mercy, we ought to sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts and always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us, yet with gentleness and reverence (1 Peter 3: 15).

How Do You See America and Her “Forgotten?”
I have presented my vision of America, hopefully true to a biblical view of and relationship with a God who is just, yet merciful toward me.  This article also introduces you to the testimonies of many who have received God’s mercy and who now are a part of extending mercy to others.  I welcome your insights, comments, and questions.  Just use “Comments” or email me at silviusj@gmail.com.  Thank you for reading.