Happy 250th Birthday, America

Hey Vineyard Fam!
This week America celebrates 250 years as a nation. That's a pretty incredible milestone!
Honestly, I have spent a lot of time thinking about this.  It brought up a memory of a friend I made in High school. His name was Amila. He managed a thrift store in Pensacola whose proceeds helped fund missions back in his home country of Sri Lanka.

Amila was one of those people you never forget. He had an entrepreneurial spirit, so we would spend hours talking about business ideas, opportunities, and ways to create resources... not for the sake of getting rich, but for the sake of reaching people with the gospel.

When he talked about Sri Lanka, his face would light up. He loved his people. He loved the beauty of his country. He believed God had a purpose for them, and he wanted to spend his life serving them. It was so contagious you find yourself carrying the same burden and love for his people.
He also wasn't naïve. He knew the hardships his people faced. He spoke openly about the spiritual darkness that existed there. He wasn't blind to the brokenness. He simply loved his country enough to want something better for it.

He often told me how grateful he was for the opportunities this country had given him. America allowed him to fund ministry back home in ways that never would have been possible otherwise. He was proud to live here while never losing his love for Sri Lanka.
Those two loves didn't compete with one another.

My friend Amila has been on my mind a lot this week especially since today is his Birthday. He actually went to be with the Lord at the end of 2020. I miss him!

Thinking about him made me realize that somewhere along the way, we've started acting as though loving your country is automatically suspicious.

Now, before I go any further, let me acknowledge something.
There are absolutely people who have wrapped nationalism in Christian language while displaying very little of the character of Christ. When love of country becomes pride that looks down on other nations, other cultures, or other people, we've crossed a line. When our nation becomes more important than God's Kingdom, we've crossed a line. When political identity begins shaping us more than Jesus does, something has gone terribly wrong. That isn't the way of Christ.

But I also wonder if, in reacting against those extremes, we've become hesitant to express a
HEALTHY love for the place God has planted us. Is it okay to love your country? Is it okay to be proud to be an American? Fair questions!

Part of the difficulty is that we use the word pride to describe very different things.
There is a pride that Scripture consistently warns us about, a pride that exalts ourselves, refuses correction, ignores our faults, and elevates ourselves above others. God opposes that kind of pride.

But there's another kind of pride that simply says, "I'm thankful for what God has entrusted to me." I'm proud of my kids, not because I think they're better than yours, but because I love them. I'm proud of our church, not because I think we're the only church God is using, but because I get to watch Him transform lives here. I'm proud of good work done with excellence, not because it makes someone superior, but because it's worthy of celebration.

I think love of country can look like that too.

The Apostle Paul gives us a beautiful picture in Romans 9. Paul loved Israel deeply. In fact, he writes something pretty surprising:

2 My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief 3 for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.    Romans 9:2-3

That's incredible. Paul knew Israel's failures better than anyone. He spent much of his ministry confronting them. He wasn't blind to their sin. Yet his love for his people never disappeared.

Love doesn't require pretending everything is perfect. You might even say, real love refuses to pretend. America has things in her history we should never celebrate. For example, slavery was evil. The racism that followed and still exists today was and is evil. The mistreatment of Black Americans is part of our history, and many of its effects are still felt today.

This isn't theoretical for me.

My mom, who passed away last year at the age of 67, was biracial. Her father was Black, and her mother was white. She used to tell me stories about going places with her dad. Because her skin was lighter, there were times she could enter through the front door while her own father and brother had to use a different entrance.

This isn't ancient history.... that's my family's history. We shouldn't ignore those realities.
Healthy love of country doesn't require pretending our past was perfect or that our present is. America still has problems and we still have work to do. We have to be humble enough to acknowledge that. However, recognizing our failures doesn't mean we stop loving the place God has called us to live.

I think we should understand it about America.

Recently someone asked if we should put a few American flags in our church for Fourth of July weekend. I'll be honest, my first reaction surprised me. I immediately started thinking, "What will people think? Will some people be upset? Will others love it? Is this political? Is this wise?'

Those aren't bad questions. As I sat with these questions, I realized there is a better question to ask:  Can I thank God for my country without worshipping it?

I think the answer is yes. In fact, I think we should.
I pray for America. I want our country to flourish. I want justice to increase. I want our leaders to seek wisdom. I want our neighbors to know Jesus. I want our communities to experience peace. Those aren't political desires; these are deeply Biblical.

The problem isn't loving your country. The problem is confusing your country with the Kingdom of God. America is not God's chosen nation. The Church is God's people.
Jesus didn't die for one flag. He died for people "from every tribe and language and people and nation." My greatest citizenship isn't American... Jesus told the disciples to rejoice that their names are written in the Lambs Book of Life.

My citizenship is wrapped up in the Kingdom of God and because of that, I am free to love and celebrate America as well. I can celebrate what is good AND grieve what is broken. I can work toward what's better, pray for revival, love my neighbors... I can honor those who have sacrificed for the freedoms we enjoy.

So this week, weekend, month, as America celebrates 250 years, I'll celebrate too. I'll thank God for the freedoms we've been given. I'll thank Him for the countless men and women who have sacrificed for those freedoms. I'll pray for our leaders. I'll pray for our neighbors.
I'll pray for another great awakening. And I'll remember that while America is a tremendous blessing...
she is not my Savior.

Jesus is.

Happy Birthday, America. May God continue to bless you. And may His Church always remember that our highest allegiance belongs to the King whose Kingdom has no end.

Now, go shout 'Murica at the top of your lungs, safely light fireworks, cook out with friends and neighbors, teach your kids about the founding of a great country we are blessed to live in, and go have some fun!

Love you guys!

-Pastor Brian