Thomas Jefferson stood, dressed in a black suit, in a doorway of the White House on Jan. 1, 1802, watching a bizarre spectacle. Two horses were pulling a dray carrying a 1,235-pound cheese—just for him. Measuring 4 feet in diameter and 17 inches in height, this cheese was the work of 900 cows.

More impressive than the size of the cheese was its eloquence. Painted on the red crust was the inscription: “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.” The cheese was a gift from religious leaders in western Massachusetts.

It may seem surprising that religious leaders would be praising Jefferson, given that his critics had just months earlier been attacking him as an infidel and an atheist. In the 1800 election, John Adams had argued that the Francophile Jefferson would destroy America's Christian heritage just as the French revolutionaries had undermined their own religious legacy. Adams supporters quoted Jefferson's line that he didn't care whether someone believed in one god or 20, and they argued that the choice in the election was: “God—And a religious president...[or] Jefferson—and no God.”

Sorry for the gap. We were largely beyond the reach of electronic and telephonic communications for some time. We are now out of the rebellious and remote borderlands and in the civilization of the county seat and largest City (population 600) of Jeff Davis County Texas.

Of historic note, the town is named for the fort named for the Secretary of War who established it to protect the ranchers who seemed to irritate the local population of Apaches with their intrusion.

We had a great time in Big Bend National Park, but cut short our stay by a few days to escape the heat that became somewhat oppressive near the end. We stayed at the Rio Grande Village. The campground is cooled somewhat by cottonwoods and mesquite, but the temperature reached 100 a couple of times and dropped only to 80 the morning before we left.

THERE is no such thing as a "Christian politics." If it is a politics, it cannot be Christian. Jesus told Pilate: "My reign is not of this present order. If my reign were of this present order, my supporters would have fought against my being turned over to the Jews. But my reign is not here" (John 18:36). Jesus brought no political message or program.

This is a truth that needs emphasis at a time when some Democrats, fearing that the Republicans have advanced over them by the use of religion, want to respond with a claim that Jesus is really on their side. He is not. He avoided those who would trap him into taking sides for or against the Roman occupation of Judea. He paid his taxes to the occupying power but said only, "Let Caesar have what belongs to him, and God have what belongs to him" (Matthew 22:21). He was the original proponent of a separation of church and state.

The March issue of The Atlantic has a series of excerpts from writings by black leaders over the past 150 years. I had the opportunity to read it this last weekend. I remain struck by the power of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail. It is always worth remembering and reflecting on how poorly we, as a society, treat other human beings and how much we room we have to improve our relationships in the future.

For those of you who may not have seen this in the news (I didn't until this morning), Nashville was hit with a serious tornado on Friday. Please include the people affected in your thoughts and prayers this weekend.

Update: We spoke with Mom and Dad Davidson and Steve Davidson this evening. They assured us that everyone in our family is doing fine and was not directly affected. The storm hit near the shopping center a few miles from Mom and Dad's home and then skipped over them and touched down again a few miles down the road.

The Wisconsin Badgers take another national championship in hockey. Way to go Badgers!!

If you need a moment of true inspiration, and you have a computer with speakers...insert your name (where mine is) into this link and then paste it into the web browser. It's not cheesy. It's brilliant.

http://Kara.Davidson.YouAreMighty.com