Uncomfortable S2 - Day 18

In the New Testament, we see that Paul demands active unity in the church. This unity joins different ethnic groups because of their common bond in Christ. In essence, Paul proclaims that a new humanity is formed in Christ. (Rom 4; Gal. 3-4; Col. 3; Eph. 2)

He insists that the primary identity of Christians is that they have a first and profound identity that comes from being IN Christ. Therefore, ethnicity, demographic, geographic, and even tribal connections pale in comparison to the identity given to us through the grace and love of Jesus Christ. This identity transcends language; it transcends borders, and certainly ethnicity as well.

This means that other races are not just equal to us, but they are JOINED to us in Christ. They are brother and sister, but they are also part of the same body as we are. This should change our understanding of those who are different from us.

When we are told that we have a citizenship that lies beyond our countries' borders, it means no place for nationalism seeking priority beyond our identity as Christians. This world is no longer your home; therefore, to take undue pride in one’s place of birth is anathema to the Christian.

Let me unpack this a bit before anyone gets a little upset. Recognizing that we come from different places is appropriate and valuable. However, when this identity becomes more important than our identity in Christ that unites us, it becomes a problem. Borders tend to separate people. Jesus unites people. We have to be uniters, not dividers if we are to follow the way of Jesus. This precludes unreasonable “pride of place” in our understanding of who we are and where we are from.

Many Christians, particularly in the United States, have been willing to buy into the ideas of Christian Nationalism. This is an ideological perspective that runs counter to what we find in the gospels and in the writings of Paul. The New Testament does not hold citizenship on earth as a privilege or a right that transcends our citizenship of heaven. We are not told to worship civic power or to seek to expand empires. Rather, we are to be more concerned with expanding the Kingdom of  God that has no borders and transcends any empires made by human hands and machinations.
 
JOURNAL

1. Do you consider your citizenship important? 
2. Do you think it is more important than your identity as a “Child of God”?
3. What is a healthy way to look at our citizenship on earth as compared to that same thing in heaven. 
4. How does being a citizen of both a nation and the kingdom of God make you someone who is more willing to lovewell?