Thursday, March 31st, 2011 11:17:03

Reagan Let Crisis Make Him Stronger

Every morning I receive an e-mail from Marketplace Leaders titled “Today God is First.” Today’s e-mail focused on Romans 6:11-12: “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

This message became real to me once I learned that the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan occurred 30 years ago today, when John Hinckley shot the president as he was departing the Washington Hilton after delivering a speech for his economy-recovery package.

Reagan had been in office only two months, but a lot had already happened. The night of his inauguration, the American hostages in Iran had been freed. Reagan had lifted price controls on oil, dismissed the Council on Wage and Price Stability, and introduced an economic-recovery plan that contained the largest tax cut in American history.

The assassination attempt had a real and lasting impact on Reagan.