Independence Day

On this Independence Day in the United States let me give you a few mind-changing thoughts from Jesus. Given the nature of Jesus' teaching, we should not be surprised to find that these are for the most part counter-cultural.

First, Jesus was supremely disinterested in national independence and supremely interested in the Kingdom of God. He came at a time when everyone he grew up with would have been talking about “Independence.” It was time like the one John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington found themselves in. Talk of independence was everywhere. But Jesus put his emphasis someplace else  (Matthew 22:20-22). So Jesus' life says being politically independent is not the most important thing in the world. I can be thankful to live in a country where we have many freedoms, and yet still recognize that I have brothers in Christ living under totalitarian regimeswho are more free than my   neighbors across the street celebrating the Fourth of July with their fireworks.

Second, nationalism is often divisive and exclusive, but the Kingdom of God is inclusive. Nationalism is devotion to the interests or culture of one's nation and usually causes you to focus much more on your nation and much less on those in other nations. USAmericans make up 4.75% of the world—95.25% of the world are not USAmericans. But as those in the Kingdom of God, we have been called to be concerned about all nations. The more nationalistic we are, the less we are focused on most of the world. But kingdom thinking opens us to mission, friendship and communion with every tribe and tongue (Galatians 3:26-27).

Third, citizenship in a country can have its strengths and weaknesses. But citizenship in heaven has no weaknesses (Philippians 3:20-21). There are some great strengths to US citizenship, but there are also weaknesses. Our system is not perfect. Every nation on earth lives by the world’s wisdom. Only in the kingdom of God is there a commitment to live by the wisdom of God. And so in Christ, our citizenship is in heaven. And there we have the ultimate freedom—freedom from sin, freedom to know God and freedom to taste the powers of the age to come. That’s the song we sing and the flag we fly, whether we live in the United States, Venezuela or China.

Fourth, Jesus was clear that loyalty to God must supersede loyalty to country.  Jesus said disciples must love him more than father, mother, son, daughter, yes and their own lives, also. It is easy to see that country would also belong in such a list. When we are disciples, we are pledging our ultimate loyalty to Jesus. And he does not disappoint.

So in that vein, being a citizen of the Kingdom of God is far more important than being a US or Vietnamese or Nigerian citizen. If we are USAmericans our passion as disciples must not be to Americanize the world or to talk as some politicians about “American exceptionalism," but to bring the Kingdom of God to those in every nation of the world.