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Wrestling with God, our Nation's History, and the Future of our Nation

When I was a camp counselor, the director had the Sr. High youth do trust exercises morning, afternoon, and night. I was a little skeptical of his goals and his methods. The last night he had us all sleep outside and as we were around the campfire, one young lady spoke up and confessed that in her high school, most everyone was mean to one another and there was no trust. In this camp, she came to trust a peer for the first time in her life. I knew this young lady from other conference youth events and she was a pill. She was always negative and put down almost anything and anyone. Now I had a better understanding of why. I told the group the story of Jacob, a young man who cheated his older brother from what was rightfully his, who went to find a wife and his father-in-law cheated him, and now was returning to his home, not knowing what his older brother would do. He spent the night before stepping foot on the family land wrestling with God. He was also wrestling with what kind of person was he going to be; the one who supplants and tries to cheat his brother again, the one who gets cheated and used, or the one who tries to do what is right, no matter the cost. I told the youth that they can spend this night wrestling with God to see how they are going to act, what are they going to value when they return home. Did they find good relationships and trust in this camp and want to continue to build these at home or return to what was happening before? In the Fall, I saw this young lady and she gave me a huge smile and a hug. She had chosen to trust more and build those good, but hard, relationships. 

In many ways, our country is like the story of Jacob and the young lady. We, US of A, have cheated and stole our way to prosperity by taking the Native Nations land and using slave and immigrant labor to build our wealth. We have not trusted some of our citizens or fully included them in our nation because of their gender, their skin color, their culture, their orientation, and many other reasons. Over the past 50 years, we have become, under the law, more of a nation where all are created equal, but we still have a ways to go. We are now wrestling with our past, our history, and what kind of future we really want for our nation. The corona virus has shown us the cracks in our foundation and exposed the false narratives that there is liberty (living wages and health care access) for all. 

There are some who want to return to the American myth of the 1950's where white families thrived in the suburbs, Christian churches were full, and we didn't have to pay attention to anyone else because they were not important. This group is very vocal, but growing smaller and smaller each year.

There are some who want to continue forward so that all prejudice, all discrimination, and all lives (especially of the minorities such as black and trans-gendered) truly matter, but want it to happen instantly and magically, "Can't we all just get along?"

And then there are the rest who want to continue forward so a truly equal and egalitarian society of MLK Jr "where children of black parents and children of white parents play together and they are judged by the content of the character, not the color of skin." But we know to get there, we have to wrestle with our past, not just asking for forgiveness, but making things right so that all have equal footing and access to the American dream. We cannot just proclaim that from now on, everybody is equal. We have to address the systems that continue to hurt some groups in our nation, that exclude some groups in our nation, and have sucked out the wealth and livelihoods of some groups for the benefits of others. This will not be easy or quick. Jacob wrestled with God an entire night, Moses lead the people of Israel (one who wrestles with God) for 40 years until they entered the Promised land. Those who have not had a seat at the table will take generations to heal and learn what it means to be free, not under the thumb of someone and some system that did not value their lives. 

The Bible tells the good news, but also shares the bad and the ugly. It is the full story of faith that helps God's people to grow and mature in their faith. Jacob was not a good guy, but he was redeemable and became one who wrestled with God and became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Our nation's history is filled with good things, but we also have a bad and ugly side. Until we deal with it, they will also be a cancer that keeps us from truly becoming a nation with liberty and justice for all. 

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