Wednesday; January 22

While John Kennedy was elected during my lifetime, he died before my memories kick in so one of the first presidents I ever really remember is Lyndon Johnson.  Honestly, maybe it was more of his death on this day in 1973 that shapes his memory,  I guess it could also be spending a lot of my early life in Texas and being a child of the 1960s that makes me familiar with LBJ’s personality and politics.  I cannot imagine what it was like being President Johnson.  He came to power during a very turbulent time in our society and on the heels of one of the saddest events in our nation’s history.  Whether you liked President Johnson or despised him, you have to admit that he was in the midst of some incredible history.  As I was reading one of his speeches to Congress from 1965 I came across an interesting quote, “I want to be the President who educated young children to the wonders of their world.”.  Johnson, who had been a school teacher early in his career, hoped to define his influence on the nation by the impact he had on the children of that nation.  When you look at the things that happened during his presidency, it is easy to see he got his chance to open the eyes of our nation’s youth to the good and the bad.

When we think about what we can do in our lifetime, its not too much of a stretch to share President Johnson’s hope.  I doubt that we will be able to influence our nation’s youth to the degree he could, but what about the impact we can have our own children, the children in our church or maybe even those in our neighborhood?  One of my favorite snapshots of spiritual living comes from the Old Testament when the Israelites were told, “You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.” (Deuteronomy 11:19).  Sure, it might be great to stand on stage and teach deep doctrines to great minds, but some of the biggest moments of influence we have are when we show our young people what is possible by living our faith.  Let’s commit to being good influences and embodying the things that can help children see the presence of a great big wonderful world.

Think About It!


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