Tuesday, March 2, 2021

My Concern

 “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side. My greatest concern is to be on God's side for God is always right.” (Abraham Lincoln)

Luke 20:24-25 (TPT) says: 24 Show me one of the Roman coins. Whose head is on the coin? Whose title is stamped on it?” They answered, “Why, it’s Caesar’s.” 25 Jesus said, “Precisely. The coin bears the image of the Emperor Caesar, and you should give back to Caesar all that belongs to him. But you bear the image of God. So give back to God all that belongs to him.” (See also Mark 12: 16-17 and Matthew 22:20-21 for similar paraphrases of these verses.)

In Jesus day, Rome (Caesar) was the governing empire.  Jesus put patriotism to Rome in clear perspective. I don’t believe it is incorrect to connect this verse to America. In my opinion, it is a mistake not to honor the country that has given us so many freedoms (including the right to worship God as we wish).  We can both honor the government and our faith at the same time. I believe the Luke verse could also be applied to paying government taxes and church tithing.

In Romans 13:1 (TPT), Paul clarifies even further what Jesus stated earlier. Every person must submit to and support the authorities over him. For there can be no authority in the universe except by God’s appointment, which means that every authority that exists has been instituted by God. God knows what President Biden is going to do before He does. Your heavenly Father was not surprised when this president came into power

If you are a Christian, you have dual citizenship in America and Heaven.  Philippians 3:20 (ICB) says: But our homeland is in Heaven, and we are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from Heaven. Billy Graham put it this way: My home is in Heaven. I'm just traveling through this world.” A children’s definition of patriotism (by MilitaryFamilyLife.com) says: Patriotism means love and devotion for one’s country. It can be shown in a variety of ways, including thoughts, words, and actions. “Are your loyalties in the right place, or do the need a minor or complete overhaul?[i]

 



[i] The topic of patriotism to both God and America was suggested by friend and blog member, Laura Leitnick

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