Courage

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ…                                                                                                 Ephesians 4:15

In his sermon yesterday, our pastor, Dennis Miller, cited the story of John Adams when he took on the unenviable task of defending the British soldiers charged in the killings of the 1770 “Boston Massacre.” Adams, a founding father of the American Revolution, took this on not because he wanted to. He took it on to further the cause of justice.

Of course, feelings were very high against the British government and the soldiers stationed in Boston to “keep the peace”. When those soldiers ended up firing into a crowd of protestors, the gunfire killed five people and wounded eight others. Adams volunteered to defend those soldiers in a court of law, in the face of withering criticism and even death threats. Adams valued justice, and he also wanted to instill into the nascent rebellion a sense that law, fairly applied, would guide the principles of those yearning to be free of British rule.

John Adams displayed remarkable courage. He stood up for principles over popularity. Christians are called upon to display such virtue by speaking the truth in love even if it does not meet with popular approval. That, of course, was part of Pastor Miller’s timely message.

We long for such courage these days.

Prayer: Lord, help us to show courage in our actions and words, Amen.