For God and Country
Redeemer traditionally closed worship on the first Sunday in July with a patriotic hymn sing. Visitors often confessed they knew only the first verses of most of the patriotic hymns and hadn’t sung them since their school days.
Somewhere in recent history it became politically incorrect to mix love of God and country. To most service men and women, it is hard to separate the two. Faith in God gives them the courage to face patriotic duty that might bring them at any moment before their Maker.
Such courage is needed outside of war as well. Important battles are fought every day—in homes, offices, schools, communities and churches—without guns and armor.
Perhaps a God-driven sense of patriotism is less understood today since the armed services are now voluntary. It is less common for young people to sacrifice two to four years of their lives in service to their country.
Parishioners—who may have spent months of their youth in cold, muddy trenches dug in foreign soil—watch pastors who never laced a boot carry the nation’s flag from sanctuaries.
Sanctuaries are for worshiping God, not country. The flag must be removed. Patriotism and religion will not mix.
There is little point in arguing that God and patriotism mix often in the Bible. Back in the day, the leaders of God’s people moved seamlessly between the altar and the battlefield.
It has been possible for Christians — and other faiths — to blend their love of God and country. There may be no connection, but churches were fuller in the days when they did.
Today and next Sunday, sing the hymns of faith.
Here are a few:
The Star-Spangled Banner The fourth verse especially: Blessed with victory and peace, may this heaven-rescued land praise the power that made and preserved us a nation.