You may not know this, but before George Washington became the first president of our United States, he was offered the job as King of America. Yeah, the people, the colonists, wanted George Washington to be their king.
And what was George Washington’s reply to that amazing offer? He flatly denied. Why? He said, “There should be no king in America but King Jesus. Wow!
When King George III of England heard that George Washington flatly refused to be the king of America he was amazed, and at that moment he uttered some very prophetic words; he said that George Washington was truly a great man who would be remembered in history as one of the greatest Americans ever. Little did he know that Washington would be later given the title, “Father of our Nation”.
Speaking of George Washington, what do we know about the monument in Washington D.C. named after him? Of course, it is the Washington Monument. Have you ever asked yourself how they came to settle on its actual design and structure – why was it designed that way? And one mysterious question, why is there a plaque mounted at the very top of the monument that no one can even see, and what does it say?
Well first, the Washington Monument is about 555 feet tall, the tallest structure in all of Washington, DC. According to my research, no building or monument in D.C. is allowed to be taller.
And its design? It’s a towering white marble and granite “obelisk”, which is another word for “pillar”. It has four sides, and on the top, it looks like a pyramid. When you see it in person it is overwhelmingly impressive.
But why that design for a George Washington monument? First, as the man given the title, “Father of our Nation”, they felt no structures in that city should ever be taller. But why that shape? Because that’s the kind of man George Washington was – he stood up strong and straight and tall as a person just like a pillar. And think about it, pillars are used for strong support to hold up a house or a building – the designer knows that the pillar will do its job – it is dependable! In fact, when you hear someone say that a person is a “pillar of society”, it means that person is a person of such strong character that he can be counted on to stand up and stand strong even under the heaviest weight – a man like George Washington.
But, what about the plaque mounted at the very top of the Washington Monument? Well, it has only two words written on it; they are in Latin “Laos Deo”. Now remember, no structure will ever be taller and there is literally, even today, no way for the human eye to even see this plaque, much less read it, even though well over one million people visit this monument every year, no one will ever see it.
So why is the plaque even there? Simply and powerfully this – it was meant for God to see. He was the one which the designers were thinking about; they knew that God was the true Father of our nation, and that without Him there would be no monument to even build, because there would be no America.
And what about those two simple words “Laos Deo”? In English what do these two words mean? They say, “Praise Be To God”. Wow, makes me think of a Bible scripture, Psalm 127, “Unless the Lord builds the house its builders labor in vain”. And get this part, “Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen guard in vain”. How true. What a powerful message for us today even if this week is not Father’s Day week –
THE MESSAGE?
That Almighty God is the true Father of America – and without Him – there would be no America.
George Washington was truly an amazing man – but no one is more amazing than Almighty God.
Let us never forget.
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