How Patriotic should a Christian be?

             There was a time when the prevailing thought of most Americans was “My country, Right or Wrong”.  Then after Vietnam, Watergate, and several other political disasters, patriotism became a dirty word. The events of 9-11 brought about a renewed surge of national pride, but for the most part it has long since evaporated.  The question that arises for believers is how much of a flag waver do I want to be?  I recently received an e-mail from an individual who sincerely believed we should not have an American flag in our sanctuary.  Some believe the only option is to totally divorce church and state.  After all how can we be a citizen of two kingdoms?  Augustine reconciled this dual citizenship by saying that “we should be godly citizens of whatever kingdom we are in.  If children, parents, kings, judges, taxpayers, and tax-collectors were all “that Christian religion has taught men should be,” the result, Augustine argued, would be “the salvation of the commonwealth.”  This responsibility of Christian citizenship was well expressed by a Nepali pastor imprisoned for preaching the gospel, which is against the law in his Hindu nation.  “Of course I must obey my Lord and spread His Word,” he said during a recent visit to the U.S. “But even though we are persecuted, we who are Christians in Nepal pride ourselves on being the best citizens our king has.  We try to be faithful to the fullest extent we can.  We love our country—but we love our God more.”  C. S. Lewis offers the analogy of the family to illustrate how the Christian loves his country.  One doesn’t love family members only when they are good; rather, we seek lovingly to correct their faults.  So, too, the Christian can remain faithful to country while weeping over and seeking to correct its faults.

             I like Chuck Colson’s comment that a “Christian patriot spends more time washing feet than waving flags”.  The flag reminds us that God has placed us in this amazing country for a reason:  that we might make it a better place.

             In my opinion the only hope for America is revival and spiritual renewal.  That means more than just getting a few laws passed.  If we as believers would live godly lives and demonstrate the love of Jesus our nation would be changed.

              I hope you had a great Fourth of July and enjoyed being together with your family.  Have a great week!

Pastor Barry

P.S.  Attached are two additional pieces of inspiration. 

(1) The first is an article given to me by Lisa Merritt, written by Billy Graham that reminds us of some of the things that make America great. Question:  My friend keeps sending me e-mails about what’s happening in the world, and some of them are really scary.  We seem to be headed downhill faster and faster—economically, socially, morally, you  name it, I don’t see much of anything good happening in our country, do you?  Answer:  Yes, we live in unsettled and uncertain times, and only God knows what the future holds for us (for our future is in His hands).  If all we had to go on were the daily headlines (or your friend’s e-mails), we’d be right to be alarmed.  But this weekend I hope you’ll also take time to look on the other side, and pause to thank God for all the good things we still enjoy as a nation.  Tomorrow we will be celebrating July 4th, commemorating our birth as a nation.  Think of the freedoms we still enjoy, and the opportunities and resources God has given us.  Why not let this holiday be a time of thanksgiving for this nation, and for God’s blessings to us?  After all, in spite of our problems (and they are many), our nation is still the greatest nation on earth and God has not completely withdrawn His blessings from us.  The Bible’s words concerning ancient Israel could be applied to us as well:  “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12).  But I hope you’ll also make this holiday a time of intercession, asking God to intervene and bring us back to Himself.  Many of the dangers we face are self-inflicted, because we’ve left God and His will out of our lives.  This is why our greatest need as a nation is repentance and spiritual renewal.  May God bring us back to Himself– beginning today.

(2) The second is a video and country song I heard this week that reminds me of the price of freedom. We've included in the blog for you today.

 


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