today is the 4th of July, and patriotic is the last word you could to describe how I feel today.
i am back home and that is oh so good. this week back at home came at just the right time, i absolutely love where i'm at this summer in las vegas getting to meet the people i have met and be a part of what God is doing at the church i'm working at, but it was so good to see some familiar faces. whether its been spending time with my family, watching two of the best people i know get married to each other, FINALLY getting to spend some quality time with my smokin hot fiance whom I miss very much, or catching up and hanging out with a lot of my closest friends, this has been an amazing way to recharge and prepare for what God is going to do with the rest of my summer when i go back tomorrow.
but i went to church and there was a big extravaganza to celebrate the 4th of july and i just wasn't feeling it. i don't know if being in a completely different culture changed my perspective on stuff like this or what, but forgive me if i care a little bit more about my allegiance to God than my allegiance to the country i live in. don't get me wrong, i do feel incredibly blessed to live in this country. but when we gather in our churches to pray that God would allow this nation to be Christian again and that it would just happen instantly while we sit in our comfortable churches while people are hurting and in need of hope. i look at the life of Christ, and don't see how this all adds up.
God, tear down the walls of our churches, and allow us to boldly go out and actually do something good in Your name so Your Kingdom can continue to grow here on this earth. give us a spirit of boldness to do amazing things. amen.
2 comments:
I can't remember when this happened, but at some point while at my church, we had a "patriotic" service. I guess it was last 4th of July. Anyway, we sang songs like "My Country Tis of Thee" as an act of worship. It was a service that honored the US more than it honored God, and ever since then, I've always wondered where allegiance to our country lies in the grand scheme of things and whether it'll count for anything in eternity.
Absolutely agree with you and Adrian. I had a tough time being patriotic this weekend as well while I was at church. I don't think the success of this nation and the ushering in of God's kingdom are necessarily tied closely together... or at all.
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