Lessons from Ronald Reagan 2
No leader accomplishes his great work without followers. God could have chosen many ways to send the gospel to the world, but He chose to send His One and Only Son who then sent His followers into the world.
Today you are training children. They are your followers.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum has many Reagan quotes in its galleries. This is the one that greets you when you enter. Ray and I enjoyed having our picture taken beside these statues of the Reagans that stand in front of it.
The quote reads:
America’s best days are yet to come. Our proudest moments are yet to be. Our most glorious achievements are just ahead.
On Monday night, Ray and I watched a Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood with one of our children and her family. I’ve been thinking about both Reagan and Rogers a great deal lately. Both of these great leaders encouraged us to be our best selves. I told the group that we need a Ronald Reagan and a Fred Rogers today. Then, I realized and said, “We are going to have to be them.”
Let’s start now ourselves and let’s rear generations who fulfill Reagan’s prediction that: “America’s best days are yet to come. Our proudest moments are yet to be. Our most glorious achievements are just ahead.”
We have our work cut out for us, but as one of the plaques on Reagan’s desk stated: It can be done.
Two other quotes in the Reagan Library go along with my thoughts today. Reagan made this first statement in 1982 at a speech at the National Conference of Christians and Jews.
Let me type it just in case it is hard to read on your device:
It is up to us . . . to work together for progress and humanity so that our grandchildren, when they look back at us, can truly say that we not only preserved the flame of freedom, but cast its warmth and light further than those who came before us.
Let’s do that. Okay, mamas?
Reagan made this second statement in his 1984 State of the Union Address. It’s theme is similar.
And now I’ll type that one:
Let us be sure that those who come after will say of us in our time, that in our time we did everything that could be done. We finished the race; we kept them free; we kept the faith.
I believe that keeping America strong and free is a worthy goal. Of course, of exponentially more importance is finishing the race that God has set before us. Things looked really, really tough for Jesus, but He kept on keeping on for the joy set before Him. We can do that, too. Our children are watching to see if we do.
Therefore, since we also have
such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle
and the sin which so easily entangles us,
and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us,Â
looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith,
who for the joy set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and has sat down
at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2