Great People
As a kid I was enthralled by Teddy Roosevelt’s biography. You’ll recall he was the 26th President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and before any of this, a war hero. After he had ridden with the “Rough Riders” up San Juan Hill and returned to the US a hero, he delivered one of his most famous speeches:
“If we are to be a really great people, we must strive in good faith to play a great part in the world. We cannot avoid meeting great issues. All that we can determine for ourselves is whether we shall meet them well or ill.”
There is a healthy balance in TR’s words. Greatness is not hampered by difficult circumstances or tough issues. In fact, greatness would not be great unless there were monumental challenges to overcome. Victory would not be sweetly savored unless defeat had been stared in the eye.
Meeting challenges is inevitable. Jesus said so when He told the disciples, “In the world you will have tribulation.”
But rather than launch into a discussion of how we are to deal with personal burdens, I want to spend the balance of this week’s blogs on one of the great issues that is larger than our private lives.
Next blog, “Our Great Part”