America – a God chosen vineyard

Our country, America, was chosen by God as a nation to serve God. We are the Gentiles written about in Acts 14:27 NLT, “Upon arriving in Antioch, they (Paul and Barnabas) called the church together and reported everything God had done through them and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, too.” That’s who we are. That is what America was founded on. As I research the history of America for my next book, tentatively titled “Isaiah Speaks to America”, I am learning more and more of what it should mean to be an American. And where we are today.

My heart breaks at the riots and looting that is rampant in our country right now. I can never know the pain behind the message because I am a middle – class, white female living in a middle – class predominantly white neighborhood. I don’t have to worry about walking down the streets and being afraid of the police. I have never had people go to the other side of the street to avoid walking beside me. have never been traumatized by America because of my race. My heart cries for those who have.

And I know that the pain is real. How do I know? Because I was raised in Tennessee and as a child I was taught that there is a difference. I wasn’t taught out of hatred, but out of fear and ignorance. I thank God that He showed me that my upbringing was wrong. That all people were created by Him to worship Him. That is the only purpose for God even creating human beings is to walk in fellowship with Him. The book of Genesis describes how God created man to walk in the Garden of Eden with Him and to care for the Garden and creatures He had made. Peace like no one on earth today can ever know. And yet, we destroyed that peace and have been striving to get it back ever since.

All lives matter to God. He has made a way back to that relationship and it is not through hating other humans that He created as well. We are God’s vineyard and we must let Him tend that vineyard. I heard somewhere that the branches of a plant can do nothing on their own, they must hold tight to the vine where they get their nutrients. We can do nothing on our own, we must feed on our Vine, God the Father, so that we are not feeding on our own selfish wants and desires. My friends, there is a better way to do this. There is a better way to love each other. If we don’t change our perspective, God will change it for us.

“Now let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard:

I will tear down its hedges and let it be destroyed. I will break down its walls and let the animals trample it. I will make it a wild place where the vines are not pruned and the ground is not hoed, a place overgrown with briers and thorns. I will command the clouds to drop no rain on it. The nation of (America) is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s armies. The people of (America) are His pleasant garden. He expected a crop of justice, but instead He found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead He heard cries of violence.” Isaiah 5:5 – 7 NLT

So how do we stop the hatred, the bitterness, the fighting, and anger? God’s Word says it so much better than I ever could in Matthew 6:33 NLT

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.”