Called

The only thing necessary for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.

                                                                                                               Edmund Burke

 

CBS This Morning is the news show that often plays on our television during breakfast.  Frequently, authors are interviewed while on tour to promote their books.  When Chelsea Clinton was interviewed about the new paperback edition of It’s Your World (A children’s book), she spoke about how each child can and should make a difference in the world.  She also told stories of children who have already made an impact and had ways and ideas for the readers to consider getting more involved themselves.  Being a citizen brings a “call to action every single day,” she stated.

My husband and I moved from St. Louis, our home of 60+ years, to Charleston, Illinois, where our daughter and her family live and work at Eastern Illinois University.  Illinois is now on its second year of budget impasse, something that is “starving universities and agencies around the state.  Last night, we attended a “town hall” with a poster picture shadow of Rep. Shimkus, who sadly chose not to come (he prefers to meet constituents one-on-one), passing up a real opportunity to hear the voices of some people he claims to represent.  But he did not deny us the opportunity to listen to one another and to Mr. John Spoerer, who will be opposing him in 2018 and very willingly responded to issues presented.  As citizens, we need to stay informed about our government both here in Illinois, nationwide and around the world.  Apparently, a democracy is more fragile than I would have believed; we need to be vigilant and active in ways that we can.

This “call to action” is also applicable to those of us who believe in God and His call to serve Him and others.  One particular act of faith that often gets too little attention is the act of praying, individually and with other believers.  For Christians, Jesus set an example of a life of prayer, and the Bible writers exhorted us to pray “without ceasing” and believe in God’s power, a power even greater than the terrible evil operating worldwide as we see displayed on the evening news.

Let’s all be faithful to respond to “the call,” as citizens and as people of faith in God.