(From the Preface of my book OLD PATHS AND ANCIENT MARKERS, Guarding the Treasure of the Gospel. Available on Amazon and at www.mkgantt.com/book-store)
I am not a hero worshipper, but I am a hero admirer. My favorite passages in the Bible are those that reveal ordinary men who blaze across the scene with extraordinary exploits. Not always the strongest, not always the bravest, not always the smartest, but always in the grip of God––they are men and women who rise up out of the fog of anonymity to face the impossible, the improbable . . . even the unthinkable.
Gideon, who won a great victory because he made a decision to face the Midianites, outgunned and undermanned.
David, who became a giant killer because he dared to face a giant.
Eleazar, who struck down a host of Philistines because he refused to give ground.
Mary, who gave birth to our Savior because she was willing to endure public scorn.
Those are my kind of people.
Such people don’t always receive accolades or honor, but they do always leave a legacy for others to grasp onto. They blaze a trail along their way for others to follow. Such people show the way out of mediocrity not for their own glory but in their willingness to serve others. They are not necessarily known for their great strength, but for their obvious weakness and the will to take a stand anyway. They are great not for winning winnable battles, but for plunging headfirst into the unwinnable and somehow . . . winning.
Such are the targets of this book. Our nation is plunging into the abyss. A day of terrible darkness is upon us and there are no superheroes just over the horizon to save the day. There is a great warfare being waged for the souls of our children and despite wave after wave of grand and eloquent promises, there is no government entitlement that can turn the tide.
What is needed to save the day are guides––fathers and mothers who will take a stand against the giants that seek to enslave our children and who will lead the way out of the darkness and into the light. We desperately need men who will withstand the hordes of Philistines gnashing and snarling in their rebellion against the living God and who want to steal a generation away from us.
There is a generation of frightened and desperate children who are wondering where their parents are and when they will show up to save them. They are wondering when jobs and careers and social clubs and sports will become less important to their fathers than they are. Our children desperately understand they are being led down a path that goes nowhere while their fear and despair grow greater with each passing day.
The prophet Jeremiah cried out to Israel, “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it and find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16).
There is an ancient path . . . a good way where we can find rest for our souls. Our world has sought a different path, a new way to walk. There is no rest in that way. There is unrest, violence, anger, and death in that way. For the sake of our families, for our children, for a generation that has not yet been born . . . we need guides who will seek out the old paths and the ancient markers that show us the way. And then, we must find men who have the courage to walk against the tide flowing away from God, away from the old paths. We must find men who, though weak, will stand and with great determination lead their families back to the old paths of righteousness, of holiness, of faith.
The kingdoms of this world are falling. Governments are failing and their promises turning to ash. There is no help for us there. We must find the good way, walk in it, and find rest for ourselves and for our children.
