If God’s purpose for nations is to draw people back to Himself, then it can be said that America exists to draw people back to the Lord (Acts 17:24–28). How then is America fulfilling its purpose?
America has a rich history of drawing people to God. Many of our country’s original town charters were established in covenant with God. Moreover, we’ve been an affluent country, and many Americans have used their wealth to finance local and global mission projects. American churches and ministries have sent countless missionaries around the world.
Furthermore, America has valued religious liberty and freedom of speech. These rights have afforded its citizens great opportunity to share the good news of the gospel and the truth of God’s Word. And we’ve striven to export these rights to other countries. Americans want others to experience what we have. Because of this, America involves itself in the affairs of countries around the world, encouraging them to adopt principles that our founding fathers derived from the Bible.
We are a nation that was founded on the teachings of the Bible, and for many years God uniquely blessed us. As such, we’ve modeled to the world what it is to be a nation that embraces God. However, it appears that we may now be modeling to the world what it is to be a nation that rejects God. As America has gradually turned its back on these biblical principles, its moral convictions, and God Himself, we have experienced a decline.
In our faithfulness, America drew people to God by creating a culture where the Word of God was readily available and respected and by standing as a light to the world. In our rebellion, America may draw people to God by serving as a warning of what happens when God is rejected. Could it be that we are poised to model to the world that God cannot bless rebellion—even from those nations who were once blessed for their faithfulness to Him? Could it be that God is preparing to trouble our nation with every kind of distress not only to draw us back to Him but also to alert other nations to the consequences of rejecting Him (2 Chron. 15:1–9)?
