“Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good-- no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord. So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.” – Philemon 1:15-16
The 1968 presidential campaign was one of the most bitterly fought in the nation's history. Set among national divisions over the Vietnam War, and social policy, and against the backdrop of riots and assassination, neither Richard Nixon’s nor Hubert Humphrey’s campaigns made healing divisions a major theme.
Just 3 weeks before the election, as Nixon’s train pulled into the small town of Deshler, Ohio, Vicki Cole was there to greet him. The eighth-grader, along with her classmates, cheered. Vicki held up a sign that read “Bring Us Together”.
Richard Moore, a friend of Nixon, told the candidate's speechwriters who then began inserting the phrase “Bring Us Together” into Nixon’s speeches. Nixon mentioned the Deshler rally and Vicki’s sign in his victory speech on November 6, 1968, adopting the phrase as representing his administration's initial goal—to reunify and reconcile the bitterly divided country.
The Lord desires us to be reconciled to Him and to others. Today in prayer, praise the Lord that you are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ and seek to be reconciled to others.
“The number one problem in our world is alienation, rich versus poor, black versus white, labor versus management, conservative versus liberal, East versus West . . . But Christ came to bring about reconciliation and peace.” – Billy Graham
God’s Word: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” – 2 Corinthians 5:18
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