more important to him to be true to his faith and honor God. He lived the rest
of his life that way, too.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: He defied the Nazis in his native Germany during
World War II and gave up his life as a Christian protecting the Jews. He refused
what he called “cheap grace” for authentically living his faith in God. That
meant passing up a chance to escape to the United States so that he could
stay and fight for what he knew was right. For that, he was executed in the
Buchenwald prison camp – but has never been forgotten.
Jackie Robinson: The man who was chosen to break the racial barrier in
major league baseball in the United States because he had the courage not to
fight back – a courage and dignity born of his own ingrained faith.
Pope John Paul II: A man who never sought power and never abused
it but used it to serve God, the Catholic Church, and the world by simply
practicing what he preached.
Chuck Colson: One of the corrupt men of the disgraced presidency of
Richard Nixon, who went to prison in the Watergate scandal. But he converted
to devout Christianity before going to jail and devoted the rest of his life to
developing a prison ministry that has grown enormously and helps untold
inmates – and society – by bringing God and faith into their lives.
Metaxas, who has also written extensive biographies of Wilberforce and
Bonhoeffer, says in his chapter about Wilberforce that we shouldn’t try to
compare ourselves to these great men but rather ask ourselves: “Am I using
what God has given me for His purposes? Do I have a relationship with Him so
that I know where He is leading me? Am I obeying Him in all areas of my life
– or trying to do so – so that I can know I am in a real relationship with Him?”
(BMH)
AN ENDURING EXAMPLE
We have gotten used to a peaceful and orderly transfer of power, but it was not
always so – and still is not. We saw another example most recently when the
United States celebrated its Independence Day on the Fourth of July as Egypt
was falling into chaos with a military coup.
When George Washington became the first President of the United
States, many people believed that he would never voluntarily give up such
enormous power. Virtually no one did in those days. King George III said that
if Washington really left power voluntarily, he would be “the greatest man who
ever lived.”
Even when Washington refused to stand for a third term, and John Adams
was elected to succeed him, some people still doubted that he would really step
aside when the time came. But as they were on their way to the inauguration,
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