PATRICK BUTLER: Why Native Americans? Catching Up On What God Is Doing For America

19 August 2010

  I’ve been writing a lot lately – here at ResonateNews.com and my blog at patrickbutler.net – about reconciliation and Native Americans. In fact, as Religion editor of RN, reconciliation has been the main story before me for a month.  Native American reconciliation is frankly a subject I’ve not studied for quite a while, though I am married to a Caddo Native American registered in her tribe – as all of our children are. 

As a Christian and a columnist, I have a lot of catching up to do.

    What this is really all about is catching up on what God is doing  in the yet-significant area of covenant breaking with Native Americans.

   First, though, I took another look why I have  not been on the cutting edge of this issue the past couple of years.  Catching up to what God is doing, seems to be, frankly, more the norm in my life, rather than the exception. This is hard to admit for a news guy who likes to think he is fairly aware what is going on with God on the planet.

I see that when it's said, “God is up to something,” it really means that God has a lot of things going on all at once in a lot of different places and in the lives of billions of people.

   No wonder I can’t keep up with it all. What reporter - or even a group of reporters - could, really?  It seems it would be arrogant to assume that anyone could be,  “on top of it” when it comes to knowing all God is doing. 

     I've sudenly been exposed to so many different streams of ministries that I knew little or nothing about, I've been amazed. 

    The answer to being well-informed appears to be to stay open and pay attention to what God is showing me now.  I have to trust when I ask God everyday what to focus on, I’m seeing what he wants me to learn.  Some things God is doing will get  left out of my field of spiritual vision for another time.

    That’s OK. It’s one reason I must depend on other people and they must depend on me. Together we can get a bigger picture of what God is up to. This seems it would take care of any pride issues about the depth of understanding God is giving any one of us. When it comes right down to it, there are  many things I know little about.

    This attitude would seemingly take care of is stress for info fanactics who, "have to know it all."  I don’t HAVE to know it all. In fact, I won’t. I’m off the hook when it comes to understanding all things.

     Back to Native Americans, First Nation members and reconciliation.

   As a reader, then, if  you have been led to these words I have to believe we have not “met” by accident. Perhaps this is the time for you to focus on these  issues God is bringing up here; it’s time to think about Native Americans once again. I first became aware of the American Indian Movement in 1969.

     “Why Native Americans?  Why now?”  one may reasonably ask.   I have been fairly convinced by those in reconciliation movements that America cannot progress spiritually until it revisits  the way it dealt with its Native people. That is is huge claim, I understand, and deserving our full attention and examination.  I now think if this issue is not the primary obstacle to Amrerica's spiritual growth, it’s pretty close to the top of the list.

     So take some time to read the news headlines at ResonateNews.com that have the word “Mohawk” or “Native” in them. Decide for yourself.  There are some significant reasons those particular stories are there. Each story is chosen for its ability to inspire, encourage, reveal deeper truths and gain understanding.

     And to catch up on what God is doing.