I know that celebrating the discoveries of the bold explorer Christopher Columbus is no longer politically correct. Even the supposed conservative politicians in our national capital want to remove him from history. Oklahoma senator James Lankford proposed removing the Columbus Day holiday from the federal calendar and replacing it with Juneteenth. Why not celebrate both? Today I am taking some excerpts from my book, “Faith, Hope, and Liberty: Our US Holidays, Volume I,” to honor Columbus.
Colorado declared their first non-centennial Columbus Day celebration in 1905. Other states soon picked it up. In 1935, the Knights of Columbus urged President Franklin Roosevelt and Congress to make it a national holiday, which they did. Let me tell you a little about why this holiday is essential.
Christopher Columbus was a man of faith. He loved the scriptures and found an incentive in them. Matthew 24:14 (NKJV) was one of his motivators. It reads:
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Columbus wanted to spread the gospel worldwide so that Jesus would return. He took the meaning of his name, “Christ-bearer,” seriously. His Book of Prophecies was an after-the-fact historical collection of events that happened in his life. In it, he wrote:
“It was the Lord who put in my mind (I could feel His hand upon me) to sail to the Indies. All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me. There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit because He comforted me with rays of marvelous illumination from the Holy Scriptures.”
Columbus believed he played a critical role in preaching the gospel in more lands. He Continues:
“For the execution of the journey, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics, or maps. It is simply the fulfillment of what Isaiah prophesied. [Isaiah 40.22 which said the earth was a circle.] ... These are great and wonderful things for the earth, and the signs are that the Lord is hastening the end. The fact that [the] gospel must still be preached to so many lands in such a short time – this is what convinces me.”
Peter describes the “latter days” in his sermon in Acts 2 which began with the ascension of Jesus. Christopher Columbus believed that they were living in the last days as Islam was rising in Europe. Further in his “Book of Prophecies” he stated:
“The holy scriptures testify in the Old Testament by the mouth of prophets and in the New Testament by our Savior, Jesus Christ that this world will come to an end. Matthew, Mark, [and] Luke have all recorded signs of the end of the age and I say that the sign that convinces me that the LORD is hastening the end of the world is the preaching of the gospel recently in so many lands.”
We, too, should take scriptures seriously and preach the gospel to all nations. The Bible inspires us to act in faith and is helpful to us on every level (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Likewise, we should take the name of “Christian” seriously (Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:12-16; and Romans 12:9-21) and bear His name and light in our world.
Christopher Columbus believed God called him to this task. He thought he was to carry the gospel and bear the name of Christ to the far-off lands and diligently searched the scriptures for direction from God. He found assurance in his call to sail to the far reaches of the earth with a Christian message. Two references he included in his writings are:
Zechariah 9:10 (NKJV)
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
The battle bow shall be cut off.
He shall speak peace to the nations;
His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.’
Psalm 107:23-24 (NKJV)
23Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters,
24 They see the works of the LORD,
And His wonders in the deep.
What difference does Columbus make for us today?
• Have the courage to “get out of the box” with our thinking and look for opportunities.
• Be Persistent.
• Handle Criticism and Persecution.
• Walk by Faith to Achieve – with God.
It was difficult for Columbus to get the funding he needed for his voyage. He faced ridicule and opposition, yet he persisted by faith, and we know the rest of the story.
The District of Columbia and Columbus, Ohio, honor Christopher Columbus with their names, as do other communities in the nation. Columbus Day is an opportunity to reflect on the great explorer's faith, courage, determination, and ingenuity. He is an excellent illustration of taking God at His word and living out his faith for the sake of God and the lost humanity.
Let’s celebrate Christopher Columbus and …
Keep The Light of Christ-Bearing Burning!
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