A Date Which will Live in Infamy
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Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: Understanding the Times
A Date Which will Live in Infamy
by Emmett Smith
"Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy…"
– Franklin D. Roosevelt uttered this phrase in a
speech to the Congress of the United States on
December 8 following the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor. They attacked early on a Sunday morning,
correctly expecting that that particular timing
would ensure maximum unpreparedness on the part of
the Americans. And although the carrier fleet had
been ordered out to sea and was spared, the attack
was certainly a success. But surely there's
another historical event that is even more
infamous.
It's recorded in Genesis chapter 3, and has been
the subject of great secular literature. "Paradise
Lost!", the newspapers might proclaim in inch-high
bold type. Milton would surely agree. And we've
been at war ever since. President Roosevelt
declaimed the treachery of the Japanese in
preparing for war while speaking peace through
their embassage. Their treachery pales in
comparison to that of the evil one! And he's
plotting your demise.
That's right, he wants to take your soul as battle
spoil. And if he succeeds you'll have only
yourself to blame. Unlike the sailors at Pearl
Harbor, we've been warned. We've been told to be
watchful, vigilant, circumspect, as we walk this
life. We've been taught about his deceit, his
craftiness, and his subtlety. And repeated
warnings throughout the New Testament inform us as
to the nature of the conflict and of our foe. And
most importantly, we don't stand alone in the
conflict. "But the Lord is faithful. He will
establish you and guard you against the evil one"
(2 Thess. 3:3). See also Ephesians 6:10-18.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it
is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all
the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be
slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more
than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am
sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor
rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor
powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else
in all creation, will be able to separate us from
the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom.
8:35-39).
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