Sounds like a party

It's July 4, Independence Day in the United State, a day we celebrate freedom.  

A number of years ago, when my oldest son as a student at The Citadel, he somehow was awarded the opportunity to do an internship one summer with the British Parliament. He and another Citadel student were housed in an apartment within walking distance of the seat of Great Britain’s government, and assigned to work in the office of an MP (Member of Parliament).

As July 4 approached – which, rightfully so, is just another day in England - my son and his roommate decided to throw an Independence Day party. They had shirts that represented the flag of the United States, and invited anyone and everyone, American or not. I don’t know that they could find hamburgers and hotdogs, but I’m sure they bought as “American” food as they could, along with plenty of beer, and blasted American country music from their stereo.

It attracted quite a crowd, of even the British friends they knew and worked with, who were up for a party (in spite of the fact that it celebrated a major defeat of their country). My son came upon two people standing, staring at Big Ben, the famous clock tower that stands at the north end of Westminster Palace, and asked, “Are you Americans?” The couple was embarrassed that they were so obviously tourists, but they admitted they were indeed Americans. “We’re celebrating the Fourth of July,” my son said. “Come on over.” And they did.

As I was thinking about Independence Day, I couldn’t help but marvel that, at one time, tiny Great Britian – an entire country that is basically the size of one of our American states – ruled almost the entire world. The saying went that “the sun never sets on the British Empire,” because there were British colonies literally all around the world.

Just about all of those former British colonies eventually gained independence – Canada, Australia, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, just to name a few - and eventually no doubt the American colonies would have gained independence as well.

But how different would this country have been? Indeed, how different would the world have been without the example of a democratic republic and the idea of “government by the people” the American founders established? The idea that natural rights come first, not where your parents were born or what language you speak or the color of your skin (although that took some time), and that power flows from We the People. Not to mention the advances that took place in America because, I believe, there was freedom to try, to innovate, to risk at a level perhaps never before seen in any other country. And there was plenty of reward for success.

I came across part of a speech given by President Calvin Coolidge in 1926, the 100^th year of the founding of this country, that are worth repeating:

“If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final.

“No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction cannot lay claim to progress. They are reactionary.”

As I thought of my son on that July 4 all those years ago, boldly celebrating his American heritage in the heart of the very country that opposed what he and his roommate and friends were celebrating, I couldn’t help but think of a passage the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians (3:20): “But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Our citizenship is in heaven. Jesus spent a lot of time talking about the Kingdom of Heaven. And one of the confusing things is that there often does not appear to be much difference between the citizens of this (or any) country and those of the Kingdom of Heaven. Much like on most days that summer my son spent in London, if you never heard him talk there would be no reason to assume he wasn’t English (but as soon as he opened his mouth and that Southern drawl started, there would be no doubt he was not of that world). No one but God knows the true difference.

I am also a citizen of the United States of America, and proudly so. As a Christian, I am told throughout scripture to pray for where I live, to uphold the laws of this country (unless they contradict God’s Word), to pray for our leaders whether I voted for them or not, and work for the betterment of my neighbors, my community, my state (for what else can it mean to “love your neighbor as yourself”?)

At the same time, we are told to live as witnesses of our heavenly kingdom, striving to be known as Children of God. Paul, again in Philippians 2 says, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.”

In everything, we’re to point people to Jesus, to show how they too can become citizens of His Kingdom. As Peter wrote (1 Peter 3), “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect …”

Be prepared to give reason for the hope that you have … but with gentleness and respect.

What does this look like? Again, Peter – writing, remember, during the Roman Empire, while in Rome, under the rule of the evil Nero who would eventually order his death – said we are not to “live (our) earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living …”

America is a country founded on ideas, and anyone who buys into those ideas – “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” – can become an American, too.

Just as anyone who recognizes Jesus as Lord, that He took on the punishment for your sin, and through his life, death and resurrection, you can have eternal life as a citizen of God’s Kingdom. It doesn’t matter where you were born, where your parents were born, your language or skin color. All that matters is your heart.

There is a great old hymn called “One Day” that has been on my mind a lot lately. The chorus says,

“Living, He loved me.

Dying, He saved me.

Buried, He carried my sins far away.

Rising, He justified freely forever

One day He’s coming, oh Glorious Day.”

That’s it, simply put. We live in anticipation of that Glorious Day.”

And like my son, inviting all to come to his party to celebrate American independence from King George III in the very heart of England, you’re invited to come to celebrate God’s Kingdom, regardless of your earthly citizenship.

I promise, there’s going to be a party.