Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 2

 

This post is part 2 of a series on Christian citizenship, and why I believe mixing Christian identity with American identity is bad for both. My intent in sharing these short Biblical reflections is not to "prooftext", or just compile a list of unrelated Bible verses to support my argument. Rather, I hope to give you little bite-sized thoughts, which I believe represent themes you'll find throughout the Bible and historic Christian teachings.
I hope they make you think.


Today's biblical reason why I want to be a Christian in a multi-faith nation:

  Jesus’ first sermon, and the core of his message, was, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ (Mark 1:15).

 Many of Jesus' parables concerned the Kingdom of God. Yet at no point did he make plans for any kind of earthly kingdom. He resisted the temptation of the devil, who promised him all the kingdoms of the earth (Matthew 4:8-10). Rather than raising an army, he cast out unclean spirits. Rather than raising money, he fed hungry people. Rather than praying to be king of Galilee or Judea, he taught his disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10).

The Kingdom of God is not, and was never meant to be, a certain piece of land, a certain nation, or a certain form of government. It's the people in every land and nation who seek to do God’s will. 

For the Apostle Paul's teaching about "Heavenly Citizenship", check out tomorrow's post.

For more background information read this statement from the ELCA's presiding bishop, or learn about Christians Against Christian Nationalism.