Christian, Patriotic, and Celebrating Memorial Day

How can Christians celebrate Memorial Day, as American believers did yesterday? Most folks think patriotism and Biblical faith go hand in hand with baseball and apple pie; but didn’t Jesus say that His Kingdom was not of this world? If we are citizens of this heavenly Kingdom, what does it look like to be a patriot of our earthly, temporal nation?

Two things are certain: there is only one eternal Kingdom, but until we walk by sight, our Savior & Lord calls us to be faithful to Him as we walk by faith in our temporal kingdom, as obedient citizens. The following are some articles to help us live to keep God’s Law as the Spirit enables us through Jesus.

Thinking Theologicall About Memorial Day

With Memorial Day on Monday (in the U.S.) and, no doubt, a number of patriotic services scheduled for this Sunday, I want to offer a few theses on patriotism and the church. Each of these points could be substantially expanded and beg more detailed defense and explanation, but since this is a blog and not a term paper, I’ll try to keep this under 1500 words.

1. Being a Christian does not remove ethnic and national identities.

In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor free (Gal. 3:28), but this does not mean men cease to be male or Jews ceases to be Jewish. The worshiping throng gathered around the throne is not a bland mess of Esperanto Christians in matching khaki pants and white polos…

2. Patriotism, like other earthly “prides,” can be a virtue or vice.
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A Prayer For Memorial Day: The End of All Wars

Dear Lord Jesus, on this Memorial Day we rightfully honor the courageous men and women who lost their lives serving our country, in a world filled with “wars and rumors of war.” But on this particular Memorial Day, we want to honor you, as the ultimate Servant-Warrior—the quintessential Serviceman, who on the cross won the war to end all wars. No one paid a greater price to bring the final and full peace, for which we long and hope.
Continue reading “A Prayer” at TGC→