Uncategorized – Jason W. Triplett

July 5, 2023July 5, 2023

A Year Ago I Discovered a Key to Patriotism

crop unrecognizable patriot celebrating memorial day showing american flag

One year ago today, our daughter Emma left the safety of home to begin her process of becoming a member of the Air National Guard. She was truly headed into something life altering, her first big decision beyond high school. Her mother and I were left to only pray, hope, and wait while she underwent her initial training for the Air Force. Eight weeks later, a batch of family arrived at Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio to celebrate her graduation from Basic Military Training.

I will never forget the anticipation from not having seen her since she left. The first glimpse we would get of her would be during the great tradition of the “Airman’s Run”. This one-and-a-half-mile run, one of the first since COVID, finished on the training grounds surrounded by grandstands. The stands were packed with anxious families also waiting to see their child or loved one for the first time since they’d left.

Waiting in the stands, we were told to look to the end of the concourse where in the distance we would see the trainees jogging in our direction. The PA announcer invited the families to head down into the infield of the jogging track. Cheri, our daughter Evelyn and I darted for the infield. We got to the infield and claimed a spot in the front so we could see Emma and shout her name as she passed. We had a huge red, white and blue banner printed with her name and squadron on it. Then more waiting. I took deep purging breaths to assuage the nervousness as we searched the far end of the grounds. Then after what seemed like an hour, we heard faintly in the distance…

“One! What’s it feel like, Two! To be bitten by, Three! A Bulldog! Whoooaahh!”.

At first the trainees were a mass of bobbing heads as they jogged almost 300 yards away from us. They moved in sharp unison with their training sergeants next to the columns. A pair of trainees in the front held a banner stating their “Training Squadron (TRS) Number” and designation. They were “The Bulldogs”. The trainees would get to the end of the concourse and begin to circle the training grounds in front of the stands. They’d do three laps on the track and then head back off the concourse to their barracks. It was our job to search the sea of heads and find the one belonging to our daughter.

The group was bearing down on the training grounds. When the trainees entered, all jogging in formation, all wearing the same PT uniforms, all shouting the same cadence, I had to catch my breath. I realized in that moment our daughter was part of something far, far bigger than herself or any of us. I hadn’t even seen her yet and it came to my mind that she was about to graduate from “The United States Air Force Basic Military Training”. It hit in that moment that she was now a member of the best military force in the world.

As I thought about my daughter, the commitment she’d made, and how proud I was of her in that moment, something unexpected began to happen in my heart. It swelled to the point of not only being proud of her and being proud to be her dad, but proud of every single trainee I was seeing. I was even more proud of my grandfather who was in the Navy during World War II. In those moments I became more patriotic, and somehow, I was more proud to be an American that day.

Then my wife grabbed my arm and said, “Jay! Jay! there she is!”

My eyes darted back and forth from face to face. Then I saw a sandy blonde ponytail flipping back and forth among the mass of trainees. She looked focused, eyes forward, shouting firmly and loudly the cadence of the group. I scanned her head to toe. She was trim, strong and squared away. Tears welled in my eyes. My breath quickened and all I could do was cry. Then I heard my wife in the highest, loudest voice I’ve ever heard from her, “Emmmmmaaa!” I startled and broke off my tears then began shouting along with my wife. As we called to her, her training seemed solid, and she looked as if she wouldn’t break comportment. My daughter argues that what I say happened next, indeed never happened. But I swear I saw, for what looked like nanosecond, Emma’s eyes dart left and the corner of her lips curl into a grin at the sound of her mother’s voice. Or maybe that’s just what I wanted to see.

I’ve thought deeply about that day and my freshly bolstered patriotism. I’ve been around hundreds of veterans in this country who still proudly wear the designations or stations of their military units from the past. I’ve seen veterans who wore hats or jackets that say “101^st Airborne” or “USS Arizona” among many others who are members of the American Legion or who host tours at America’s Armed Services monuments. The two-day graduation at Lackland that began with the Airman’s Run stirred something in me that I think I’ve come to understand. The closer you are in proximity to what makes the United States of America the extraordinary country it is, the prouder you are that you’re a part of it. That day Emma’s commitment to military service drew me nearer to those who serve, those who’ve died and those who’ve held up the original values that make our country what it is. And for that I am blessed.

May 30, 2023May 31, 2023

Last Snuggles, Last Smiles, Last Sighs

1 Samuel 1:27–28 (ESV) “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”

You are not bone of my bones, or flesh of my flesh, but you are heart of my heart. My prayer, as you go, is that your life will become one with God in the Spirit of Christ. I love you little boy, you are my son. You are loved no less than any other precious son we have.

We prayed for you. For two years, we thought of that first foster placement. Not knowing that God had you in mind all along. He’s used you to answer all my questions about being a foster father. Could I love someone else’s child like I love our biological children? Would I accept you as part of our household? Would I be able to graft you into the tree of our family? I’ve been reminded of 2 Corinthians…

2 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV) “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”

The answers to all my questions were yes. I think this is because my questions all find their foundation in God’s promises to us in Christ. Does God love us, born of men, as He would His own children? Absolutely Yes. Does He accept us as part of His household when He adopts us? Absolutely Yes. Is He able to graft us into His family, as blood brothers with Christ, so that there is no visible line between us and Him? Absolutely Yes. And so God’s spirit has moved in me with you, little boy. And today we enjoy our last snuggles, last smiles and last little sighs with the ache of letting you go safely to your new family.

Little boy, our Heavenly Father has used you to teach me about His heart. I pray He’s used me to teach you likewise. In creating us, God knew the risk. He knew His heart would be broken. In welcoming you, for all the hope we had of maybe not needing to say goodbye, we now know the similar aching affection I’m sure God has felt repeatedly. I know it’s not exactly the same. For our Lord’s grace has given us a glimpse not of pain, but of loving people through His eyes. Yet, I’m staggered by the heart of God, the depth of His never-ending love for all of us. I pray, little boy, that one day you would be able to celebrate and proclaim the same.

It’s to a good family and to a good place you go. A place of love and belonging. I believe that. We will lay you in your basket upon the waters, with hope and joy at having had you for a little while. We’ve prayed for you to come and we will pray for you daily as you drift on your way. We hold to the belief that we’ve at least changed your life by a degree. We hold to the Lord’s varied angle, that God’s slight alteration of your course will accumulate over your life to a very different destiny than you would have had. And for now, knowing that through God’s Will, by His Word and in His Way, we’ve held you, we can say goodbye and always know, you are most certainly loved.

August 3, 2022March 6, 2023

The Powerful Heart Of Christian Leaders Who Remain Silent

Ever heard something like this?

“Christian preachers need to wake up! The Church is being persecuted in America.”

“Our Christian leaders are failing us! Where are the voices for justice?”

“The Church needs to stand up and fight. Where are the pastors?”

I’ve read and heard many things like these in the last two years from podcasts, social media, and the news. Christian leaders who’ve remained largely silent in this current cultural moment are being accused by other Christians of denying Christ and their calling. I disagree. Here’s what real Christian leaders, tenured shepherds of people, truly know.

In the insanity and pain of recent years, the mayhem and aftermath of a polarized election and widespread radicalization based on worldview, American Christians, with faith totally shaken, have begun to lose their resolve in the true Gospel of Christ.

Why? Because they live mainly on the internet.

Sorry if that feels too harsh. But I wonder if that verbal stab feels familiar? This type of raw commentary is the online standard. I too have been guilty of it. I’ve since decided that I love rhetoric, but only if it’s rhetorical. What’s being said about Church leaders by the Church and members of the media isn’t rhetoric, it’s an accusation of foolishness. (Note: Matthew 5:22)

Christian leaders are asking, “What’s the American Church really worried about?”

This is our current American Christian moment. We get pinched and think we’ve been punched, we get shoved and think we’ve been in a fight.

Consider this. In the three centuries following Christ’s ascension, the exponentially expanding Church experienced the vilest persecution she’s ever seen. For preaching or teaching Christ and living out Jesus’ commandments, a Christian could be burned at the stake, buried alive, sewn into the abdomen of a dead donkey (Seriously, look it up), and don’t forget, crucified in the public square. The Romans were merciless and had no conscience against those who denied Caesar.

Now is not the time for Christian civil disobedience in America. I can say that because we aren’t being persecuted specifically for the Gospel. I can still say anything I want to whomever I want, and I might only have social consequences for saying it. I have not been hindered one bit in preaching the Gospel or living out the commandments of Christ in this world.

Yes, Christians have descended in American culture. Yet, no revolution is now needed, save one. We stand firm in the radical mission Christ began of preaching the Gospel, making disciples, baptizing believers, and teaching them to obey Him. For this world, that will always be radical and rebellious enough. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Look at Acts chapter 5. As the persecution of the Church gained steam in 1st Century Jerusalem, the Apostles were arrested by the Jewish leaders and warned not to spread the message of Jesus Christ. Peter and the Apostles responded, “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29) For that response the Jewish leaders wanted to kill them, yet the Church kept chugging along. Two chapters later, after they’ve stayed the course of Gospel ministry, we see bloodshed in the murder of Stephen (Acts 7). After that, mass persecution broke out. What did the Church do? Did they fight? Nope. Did they organize, arm themselves and begin a civil war? Nope. Did they stand in the public square, citing articles of Jewish or Roman law and demand rights? Nope. Many Christians left, the Apostles stayed and preached the Gospel. And the Church flourished!

You may be thinking… But the Church in America has been told at times not to gather. Isn’t that persecution? No it isn’t. Persecution isn’t being told to not meet. Words are not persecutory. It’s being arrested, tried, jailed, tortured and/or executed for meeting. In America, we still have a choice to meet and in large part no local, state or federal law enforcement, no judges, are going to stand in the way.

Christian leaders are remaining silent on cultural issues for the spread of the Gospel itself.

The Gospel of Christ is for everyone. Say it aloud… EVERYONE! The calls for equity or the calls for liberty being made by Christians seem only to stem from a cultural worldview and not the Biblical understanding of the word, “all”. For example, here are two poles of this discussion. Extreme conservatives, if they pay attention to religion at all, have commandeered Jesus, wrapped Him in the flag and deemed that Christ views all societal problems the way they do. Extreme liberals, if they call themselves Christian, have reduced Jesus to the all-around good guy, adorned Him progressive tropes and determined Him to be the affirmer and accepter of all humanistic perspectives. Neither of these poles are close to Biblical. Mainly because they eliminate the concept of “all”.

True Christianity, the true Christ, does not reside in or emerge from individual worldviews. Christ isn’t Lord because people believe He is. He’s Lord whether individuals believe in Him or not. Reading the Bible first, then listening to podcasters, bloggers, social media and the news second (or better not at all) will lead us to an understanding and burden of the Gospel being for “all”. Red and Blue, Right and Left, Republican and Democrat, gay and straight, trans and cis, brown and white, socialist and capitalist, the Gospel is for ALL.

Every Christian leader has friends they pray for daily. Maybe they’ve met with these folks weekly for a coffee over a course of years. They’ve listened, they’ve commiserated, they’ve cried with these friends all the while speaking of and modeling Jesus Christ for them. They’ve done this in hope. It’s hope that these friends may come to know the Christ we know, the Lord and Savior, our King of Kings. All the while, they live down the dull actions and statements of Christians whose faith exists inside a culturally determined worldview.

These leaders would rather die than close the door on those friends because they differ in opinion politically, socially, or culturally. They’d rather risk being called weak, woke or unjust because the eternal destiny of their friend matters deeply to them. When we espouse the current cultural dissensions, fight for things Christ cared nothing about or behave in ways He never would, it ends conversations that could lead to the eternal salvation of lives. As we step back and consider the Biblical revelation of the Gospel, we understand that all souls matter deeply to God no matter who they voted for.

Yes, pressure on Christians is greater this year than last year.

Yes, we are moving toward the appropriate end of days the Bible describes.

And yes, we must speak in defense of those with little to no standing in the culture.

But do not lose the Biblical concept of “all”.

Hear the counsel of the writer of Hebrews.

“Consider (Jesus) who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” Hebrews 12:3-4 (ESV)

When we say that American Christians are being persecuted, I think of our brothers and sisters in Egypt, Coptic Christians who live every day in the possibility of their houses being burned to the ground or their children killed for practicing Christianity. When we come to believe that unkind things said about Christians is persecution, I frankly get embarrassed. When did we stop being able to hold our own in the public conversation?

We cannot say the current American culture is persecutory to Christians. Real persecution is unmistakable when we see it or hear of it. I’ve learned we need to be careful what we say because the eternal lives of our friends and neighbors can rest on the in-roads we maintain to speak Christ into their lives. Christian leaders who live for the spread of the Gospel to all people know the difference and therefore speak or remain silent.