The Lord is not slow to do what He has promised, as some think. Instead, He is patient with you, because He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.” (2 Peter 3:9 Good News Translation)
Per the Brittanica Encyclopedia, Manifest Destiny was the 19th‑century belief that the United States was destined, by divine right, to expand its territory across the North American continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and to spread its political and cultural ideals. The term was coined in 1845 by newspaper editor John L. O’Sullivan, who argued that annexing Texas and expanding westward was “our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.” Of course you remember studying this in high school history, a required class back in the day. If you were like me, you questioned the use of “divine right,” because the displacement of native Americans and the deplorable treatment that came with the institution of slavery and the mistreatment of immigrants by a people who were once themselves immigrant just did not seem “divine.” If I had lived in the 19th century, I would stand with those who opposed the manifest destiny belief as described in the annals of history.
However, if you want to talk about manifest destiny from a salvation perspective, I will support you because, after all, the Lord wants His kingdom to spread on this earth inasmuch as He desires not anyone to perish. You read the verse above, didn’t you?
Well, if you want to be involved in the right kind of manifest destiny, you have a divine right, better yet, a divine obligation, to do so. Let’s get busy! Be blessed!
“Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 The Amplified Bible)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King