With all the problems America is facing, economic struggles, political gridlock, seemingly endless wars, one wanders even if I ask what I can do for my country, will it make any difference?

People who want to follow Jesus are in a unique situation in regard to all this. Clearly, the moral compass of America has not righted itself as many of us had hoped and fought for. More and more, the reality of being pilgrims in a foreign land—one that does not embrace our beliefs or values is sinking in. From my perspective, Jesus words, “My Kingdom is not of this world,” have been vindicated.  Many of us have discovered that attempts to use worldly means to gain Kingdom influence either fall flat or worse—they cause us to sell out.

I believe that, as a Christ-follower I am, first of all, a citizen of God’s kingdom. At the same time, I love the people and the country of which, by God’s providence, I am a part. Not only that, I believe that to a great extent, Jesus’ command to love my neighbor includes loving this country, just as it includes loving enemies. This is not an easy balance to keep.

In the seventh century BC, the people of Judah found themselves without a country. They’d been brutally taken over by the Babylonians and many were shipped to Babylon—an early attempt at a sort of  “ethnic cleansing.” By moving people away from their native land, King Nebuchadnezzar’s regime attempted to undermine the threat of nationalism and revolt.

Those forced to move were devastated. They said, “How can we sing the praises of God in a foreign land?” They hadn’t been faithful when they had their own country, but they were sure they couldn’t be in a place where their treasured beliefs weren’t valued. They looked to spiritual leaders for words of hope and the restoration of their nation as they knew it. Some of those leaders sold out and gave the people what they wanted (see Jeremiah 23). God had something different in mind.  This is what he said through the prophet Jeremiah:

This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”                                           Jeremiah 29:4-7

This was a radical idea. Read further and you’ll discover something that’s pretty wild. God may have brought judgment on his people for their lack of obedience—but there was much more to his plan. One of the things the people had been unfaithful about was being a witness to the nations around them of the one true and living God who was among them. They spent most of their national existence wanting to be like all the other nations around them and in so doing, they lost their uniqueness. Now, living in this foreign land, they would learn how to be God’s people without the trappings of worldly power to lean on. Now, they would become a loving witness and influence for God among the nations like they never imagined. Through them now, God would show his greatness and love to the nations. The whole thing’s a mindblower.

All this to say, the best thing we as Christ-followers can do to love this country we live in is to be the Church. Dig in. Plan to stick around until we’re called home. Invest in the lives of people. We may have failed to get legislation passed to protect the boundaries of traditional marriage in society—but we can have extraordinary marriages and families that supersede even the traditional expectations. We can pray for our neighbors that God’s peace—his Shalom—health and wellbeing, personal wholeness and righteousness might take root. And we can put feet on those prayers.

This last week has been an extraordinary time of ministry through our church. It began last Saturday as eight of us went to inner city Philly to “plant gardens” so that others could eat its fruit. Sunday night began an amazing week of Vacation Bible School where we joined together and invested in the lives of children and their families. We made new relationships that will change eternity. We may not have sung “God Bless America;” but God actually blessed America through us.

Have a great 4th!

Pastor Tom