We have just celebrated the Fourth of July, the birth of our Nation. What does this National celebration exactly mean?
We celebrate our system of government. We are a democracy. To us this means that we-the-people rule, and that we have certain rights and freedoms: Freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, freedom of religion, the right of free assembly, and so-on and so-forth. We are a free nation, which means that we won’t tolerate an oppressive government or a dictator. We believe in the dignity of the individual, and as individuals we have a right to live according to the dictates of our own convictions and conscience.
Celebrating our nation’s birth highlights the ideals of our particular form of government, delimits our land, and marks our place in the world. It rallies us together as a people—a people united in terms of its purpose—which we define as the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.
And we are proud of ourselves. We are proud of what we have accomplished in our 239 year history. We like to think that we are the best; no other nation like us. We especially like our freedoms and privileges. For we like to think that we are the most powerful nation on earth and the wealthiest. We like our status and our strength and our land and all the resources that come with it, as we enjoy its fruit.
But all is not well. On the 4th of July we celebrate as one united people. But on every other day of the year we bemoan our factions and decry our divisions. We struggle with our pluralism and our diversity. We are pained by racism. We are angered by illegal aliens invading our precious land. We are irritated when we hear anything other than English spoken in our schools in our offices or on our public streets. We are uncomfortable with strange customs and habits of lifestyle. And we are especially wary of the many new religions we see among our citizens, Transcendentalism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Islamism, New Age Pantheism, and more.
It’s as if, for Christians, the US is the new Roman Empire of its day. Remember that Christianity was born in the early stages of the great Roman Empire. And during Christianity’s first 300 years of history Rome gave no special treatment to Christianity; Christianity had no special status. It was NOT the religion of the empire. It was a step-child to the other competing religions throughout Rome. In fact, Christians within the Empire were generally marginalized from better Roman society. Christians had to watch their step. They were often persecuted for their faith, even to the point of death. A few Roman Emperors even tried to stamp-out Christianity altogether.
Even so, during the first 300 years of its history, as Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, Christians never tried to seize control of the Roman Empire. They did not try to dominate the Roman State Senate. They did not worry about the state of the Roman Empire and its politicians, its senators, and its emperors—except to pray for their salvation.
Christians understood themselves to be loyal followers of a King who rules a Kingdom that is not of this world. For Christians believe that eventually all earthly kingdoms and rulers and governments and nations will someday pass away. Only the Kingdom of Christ will last forever. “Our citizenship is in Heaven,” says the Apostle Paul to fellow believers in Christ. As followers of Christ, we now belong to God’s Kingdom and are members of God’s household (See Philippians 3:20 and Ephesians 2:19 including context).
When standing trial before Pontius Pilate, the local representative of Roman Imperial power and authority at the time, Jesus calmly acknowledged to Pilate that he is indeed a King. Jesus also calmly declared that His Kingdom is NOT of this world. (See John 18:33-37.) Jesus Rules! God will not have divided hearts. There will be one kingdom, one rule, one power and authority, one King—Jesus! (See Philippians 2:9-11.) What are the implications of this—in terms of Christian citizenship and allegiance?
American Christians are upset over the direction that this nation seems to be heading. We are upset that we may be losing our religious freedoms. We are concerned for our rights as Christian Americans. So, instead of being a people who offer love and salvation and mercy and grace, we are angry and belligerent. We are hostile and mean-spirited, and fight against those who oppose us. We condemn them and we curse them to hell. In short, we do the very opposite that Christ, our Lord, King, and Ruler, has called us to do—be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
Such defensiveness and fighting-for-our-rights is out of place. There is no place for bitterness, disgust, anger, and condemnation or judgment for a Christian. This is so because the world will continue to do what it has always done—seek its own way, apart from God. But we are not of this world, so Christ says (John 17). The world fights and condemns and cheats and steals and slaughters and kills its enemies. Followers of Christ are to love its enemies into His Kingdom.
Jesus said, “He who is without sin cast the first stone.”
Stones are flying all over the place these days, stones in the shape of harsh and condemning words, stones in the shape of hard-heartedness, stones in the shape of fear and hatred and greed and self-righteous, stones in the shape of the abuse of power-and-authority, stones in the shape of bigotry and racism, stones in the shape of rights and privileges and freedoms and demands and envy and cruelty and jealousy and lust and self-gratification. Christ tells us to lay down our stones and then he tells us to pick up His cross and follow Him.
Hence, we are to be followers-of-Christ, nothing more and nothing less; it’s as simple as that. Christ-followers do not do the things of the world; neither do they fight the way the world fights. Neither do they have the same attitude as the world has. As citizens of God’s Kingdom we are to embrace a sojourner’s identity here on earth. According to the Apostle Peter, we are strangers and aliens in this world, among the world’s nations, including the US. (See 1 Peter 2:11-17.)
What does this mean then as to our allegiance as Christians? It means that we are loyal to Christ first and foremost above any earthly power or rule or government. It means that our true freedom is in Christ—internal, spiritual, and eschatological. It means that we are to live and die for Christ and His Kingdom above and beyond any earthly rule and power. It means that we are to live as Christ lived—for the good of the other, for the salvation and healing and redemption of the lost and wayward, however that may be defined. And that calls for the proclamation of Christ’s Gospel, which is supposed to be Good News, the Good News of peace and reconciliation, mercy and forgiveness, and grace to all! Are we American Christians living for and spreading that Good News? Or are we too busy fighting for our own earthly territorial rights and worldly imperial privileges?
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