The Light and the Glory

  Last night I finished up The Light and the Glory, a journey in American history by Peter Marshall and David Manuel.  The book was focused on God's plan for America from 1492-1793.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much history I remembered and how interesting this 450 page jaunt through the settlement of the country was.  We begin with Christopher Columbus' journey westward and end with George Washington's descent from the presidency.  If you've been itching to delve into American history, or want to explore it all over again, this is a good place to start.

  This book is the first of three in a series called God's Plan for America.  The intent of the authors is not merely to write a history book, but rather to discover how God was at work in and through the early discoverers and settlers of this country.  What was God's plan for America, and how was God using early individuals to accomplish this plan?  And, in every case since Eden, how were we resisting and deviating from that plan?

  I think the authors do a commendable job at balancing the highlights and the lowlights.  They do not shrink from some of the atrocities committed by those who first reached these shores from Europe, and they often point out that the violence we brought to these shores was often followed by tumultuous times for the settlers.  They are very open with their bias, and they are searching for God's hand in history--some periods force them to search a little harder than others!

  The over-arching theme of the book, and the thing I take away from it, is that those who were leading were, most often, Christians who were not afraid to spend entire days in prayer to discern God's will for their lives and the country.  I am humbled by the amount of prayer described in this book--and I am challenged.  If this country, and the small part of it I inhabit, is going to follow God's will for us, we have to begin on our knees, in prayer, both admitting our faults and seeking God's voice.  The writers often lament the current state of the country, but they are always hopeful, for God doesn't give up on us!  But we must first be humble, and in all things be prayerful, and only then are we ready to be led.  For centuries that was the guiding ritual in this country--can it be so again?