06/12/2023
By: BRAVE Books Staff

Kirk Cameron's Lesson on An Appeal to Heaven

We are living through unprecedented times in modern America. Most grandparents and parents have been around long enough to see the steady decline of morality and spirituality, a spiral downward economically and politically, and now realize we are at a true tipping point. We’re on the proverbial falls at the rapids and unless we turn things around, we're likely to crash. How do we turn things around might you ask? Perhaps a lesson from our forefathers would be well-served. By following their lead, we can surmise that humility, faith, virtue and thinking of God and others before ourselves is how we get back to the nation and people we once were. To recognize that our lives are not ours alone but belong to our God in heaven, much as the people of the Old Testament were reminded of many times. To help us get back to those basic values that we have strayed so far from as a nation, we can learn from George Washington, our first president, who once said that fearless faith and moral integrity are the two indispensable supports of a free republic like ours. As a symbol of this, a flag “An Appeal to Heaven” was flown by order of George Washington commander in chief of the Continental Army in October 1775 as a symbol of solidarity, conviction and encouragement to fight for liberty.

John Locke used the Appeal to Heaven phrase in his work, Two Treatises of Government.: "What is my Remedy against a Robber, that so broke into my House? Appeal to the Law for Justice. But perhaps Justice is denied, or I am crippled and cannot stir, robbed and have not the means to do it. If God has taken away all means of seeking remedy, there is nothing left but patience. But my Son, when able, may seek the Relief of the Law, which I am denied: He or his Son may renew his Appeal, till he recover his Right. But the Conquered, or their Children, have no Court, no Arbitrator on Earth to appeal to. Then they may appeal, as Jephtha did, to Heaven, and repeat their Appeal, till they have recovered the native Right of their Ancestors, which was to have such a Legislative over them, as the Majority should approve, and freely acquiesce in."

This inspirational phrase used by John Locke was emblazoned on George Washington’s Revolutionary War flag to remind those over whom it flew that after all other alternatives of seeking justice have been exhausted, only an "appeal to heaven" remains. Colonists who saw it were reminded to be wholly reliant upon heaven and the God who reigns supreme. Their focus was Jesus Christ, and their concern was living by conviction without fear of a worldly cost.

In this culture war, we need our children to know their God and to know the Christian values this country was founded on as the two cannot be kept isolated from one another. As we, the parents and grandparents of the next generation, seek to restore our nation, it is imperative that we instill the next generation with a moral compass rooted in timeless Biblical truth and model the wisdom that comes with humbly turning from the ways that are no longer serving us as a nation. If we want freedom and liberty and prosperity and security to ring true again, we need the ability to govern ourselves responsibly, and we can’t do it without humility. 

BRAVE Books is the children’s book company that is here to start your kids on their journey of learning biblical truths and American values, so they can fight for justice and also rest in the comfort that as long as they are putting action to faith, the rest is up to to the Lord who will never fail them. 

BRAVE Books is the children’s book company you can trust with the hearts and minds of your children. Every book in the Freedom Island Book Club discusses key values such as the right to free speech, gender identity, and the sanctity of life in a fascinating adventure that will enthrall your kids. Check out the Freedom Island Book Club today and support a company that aligns with your values! For a limited time, when you subscribe you will receive a free copy of Kirk Cameron’s book Pride Comes Before the Fall on the topic of humility.