In the wake of America’s loss this past Saturday of a true Christian patriot, Howard Phillips, I am reminded of my response to a web post that I read a few months back. In commenting on an article posted at forbes.com, an individual stated that “My natural desire is that a new group of Founding Fathers would arise in the spirit of the original Founding Fathers.” My response to that individual was that America already has patriots in our midst with the spirit of America’s Founding Fathers, we’re just not electing them to office these days.  While the ratio of those with the spirit of the founders may be lessor today than it was in 1776, that spirit of respect for the Creator, honor for His laws and treasuring of the blessings of liberty, is still present in a handful of true patriots that this generation has been blessed with. Chief among those patriots has been Howard Phillips.

As I consider the God honoring, Constitution upholding, liberty loving men of this generation who possess the knowledge, intellect, experience and skills necessary to make them fit for the Presidency of our great nation, only a handful come to mind, with Howard topping the list. Had Howard been born a couple hundred years earlier, I am persuaded we would have found him in attendance at the Constitutional Convention and would likely see his name affixed to the Declaration of Independence. I expect Howard would have been found competing with Patrick Henry for the privilege of saying “Give me Liberty or Give me Death!” Today Howard has obtained that liberty.

The primary difference between Howard Phillips (and the handful like him in our generation) and the founding fathers, is that the people of the founding era saw fit to elect God honoring men of high moral character to public offices. In contrast, our present generation sentences such men to obscurity, choosing instead to be governed and lead by opportunists, power seekers, narcissists, man pleasers and those who are unprincipled enough to buy our vote with favors purchased at the expense of our neighbor. Had Howard lived during our nation’s founding era, I expect the American’s of that time would have elected him to high office, perhaps even the Presidency.

But rejection by the masses never bothered Howard, as I recall his commenting after a resounding election defeat, “we may have a right to be disappointed, but never to be discouraged,” as he continued to march forward for the the righteous cause undaunted. Rejection by this world didn’t bother Howard and it should not be a source of consternation for the rest of us. We should recall the words of Hebrews, chapter 11, which remind us that those who choose the path of faith and of honoring the Lord are commonly rejected by this world with “cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; ‘OF WHOM THE WORLD WAS NOT WORTHY.‘”

While none of us can by our own deeds make ourselves worthy of entrance into the joy of our Lord, we can know that on April 20, 2013, our friend, Howard Phillips, heard those words that we all long to hear – “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

May those of us who were blessed to know His servant remember the things that we learned from him and emulate his devotion to God, country, Constitution and the principles of liberty. The greatest honor that we can bring to our friend, Howard Phillips, is to go forth and be the example to the next generation that he has been to us, teaching them to honor God, obey His laws, uphold the Constitution and offer ourselves as the Lord’s instruments for the healing of the land.

PS. For those who were not privileged to have known Howard Phillips, my condolences. You missed an opportunity to learn how to think like a Christian patriot and apply the principles of the U.S. Constitution in the manner that the founders intended. Every speech that Howard gave was a lesson in Constitutionalism. It’s one thing to hear the words, but it’s quite another to be challenged by the spirit that goes with the words. They say that some things are taught and some things are caught. I am grateful to have caught what Howard taught.