What's So Fascinating About Lincoln?

Having recently seen the movie "Lincoln" (I know, I'm a little behind the times...), I found myself reflecting on the film many times in the past week. I was wondering why Americans are so enamored with him, and why he was portrayed in the film as such a tortured, strange, yet somehow endearing soul. For example, when asked to name a famous person, why is Abraham Lincoln the first name that comes to everyone's mind?

Perhaps it is, as the film posits, because he was a man determined to do what was right no matter what anyone else thought. Daniel-Day Lewis chooses to portray him as a rugged, introverted individualist caught in a moral quandary: he must decide if his purpose in freeing African American slaves is worth the cost of more American lives on the battlefield.

At one point in the movie, he receives information that the South is seeking a meeting to discuss terms of peace. At the same time, he is trying to get the 13th Amendment passed in the House. It will not be passed if the war ends first. Thus Lincoln delays his response to those seeking a peaceful settlement.

From his speeches, his correspondence with others, and accounts given of Lincoln, he proves to be a particular, yet mysterious character. He holds his own morals, yet recognizes that others must hold theirs. But he is not swayed by theirs. There is a constancy in his character, and in a determination to do what he feels called to do by God, which gives people a moment's pause.

His steadfastness in wrestling with what is right comes from a source that is absent from the film: his faith. He reveals how he truly weighed his decisions (the man, not the movie character!) when he offered, “In regards to this great Book [the Bible], I have but to say it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this Book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and hereafter, are found portrayed in it.”

Abraham Lincoln was an imperfect man, giving orders that sometimes seemed self-contradictory or ambiguous, but in the end, he was able to change history by listening to the ways of his Maker and taking action on behalf of his fellow men. He was not merely a humanitarian or a good person. He was a servant of God. And that made all the difference.