The Good Citizen...

Terry Dashner.......................Faith Fellowship Church PO Box 1586 Broken Arrow, OK 74013

And then the storyteller replied with an illustration, "A young optimist was traveling through life from cradle to grave, and she was attacked by caustic cynics. They—the cynics, the caustics, the self-enlightened ones, and the other hubristic jesters of printed page—stripped her of her dignity, patriotism, and voice and left her half dead beside the road.

"By chance a man from the silent majority—those who love their nation but say nothing in her defense—came along; but when he saw the woman lying there, he crossed to the other side and passed her by. A non-informed walked over and looked at her lying there, but he also passed by on the other side—not wanting to get involved.

"Then an informed citizen came along, and when he saw the woman, he felt deep pity. The informed citizen—that is one who loves God, country, and family and speaks his peace with a grace that has been honed in the fires of hard work, hard times, and hard knocks—knelt beside her, the young optimist. The informed citizen soothed her wounds with encouragement and gave her an additional voice of support against the haters of patriotism. Then he put her on his list—yes, a group of "bloggers" and grass root activists who would embrace her and welcome her youthful optimism. He advised his informed group of patriots of her plight and asked them to care for her emotional support until he returned from his journey.

"Now which of these three would you say was a good citizen to the young optimist who was attacked by the cynics?" the storyteller asked.

The ones listening, and only those listening, replied, "The one who showed her encouragement and gave her back her voice." Then the storyteller said, "Yes, now go and do the same."

Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is coming soon. And until He does come, encourage the needed optimism...

Pastor T.dash