Being a Kingdom Patriot

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." Rev 11:15 NIV

 

Over this last week, I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying about the future. I've been examining my heart in regards to what is fairly evident to me as to what is about to happen to our nation.

 

I was raised, particularly by my maternal grandfather, to be a patriot- a lover of America who wouldn't hesitate to lay down my life to defend my country. My grandfather bore many scars, from fighting in the Pacific Theater in World War II, so his word carried a lot of weight with me. He wasn't just an armchair patriot, he carried the marks of one who would put his words into action. My grandfather instilled in me a deep love for my country, and was always encouraging me to study it's history and founding to really understand what made America great among the nations of the world.

 

My grandfather also modeled for me a respect for God, and the necessity to be a man of deep character. He didn't talk about his faith much, but it could be seen in the way he lived his life. Not a perfect man, but one who was humble and willing to help anyone who needed it.

 

Over the last year or so, I've been struggling with being an American patriot and being a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Dual citizenship is always problematic- you have a tendency to love one more than another. Even Jesus said a man cannot have two masters- he will hate one and love the other.

 

This dichotomy has been working itself out in me until recently I've just had to realize that my desire to fight for America would result in resorting to earthly methods of fighting. Instead of realizing that our conflict is not against flesh or blood, we need to realize it is a spiritual confict; largely invisible to our human sense that rages behind the scenes. The problems this nation faces are a direct evidence of that conflict in what we see happening around us.

 

Earthy methods to fight will result in earthy results- anger, irrationality, a lack of peace, and eventually (possibly) a civil war. However, if we recognize that this battle we see playing out before our eyes is simply a spill over from the spiritual battle that is occurring in a realm we cannot see, we will immediately put down our earthly swords and instead choose to do battle in the most effective and powerful way we can- through seeking God and praying for our country, it's people, and it's leaders.

 

This is going to be a very difficult concept for people to accept, especially for patriots of America, but the United States does not in anyway appear in biblical prophecy about the end times. America eventually has to at least fall far enough out of power for the antichrist to rise and take over the world, and we might be witnessing that right now. That thought can make us very nervous about our futures and what that means for us and our families. I choose to be comforted about this- God's plan continues to unfold, and He already knows the end.

 

So, we have a choice before us- we can war the way the world does and loose that battle, or we can choose to full commit ourselves to be Kingdom warriors- those that lay down our lives for the cause of Christ. Although the world may be falling apart around us, Kingdom warriors will find peace and rest in the fact that God has this all under control, and we are laying down our lives (figuratively or perhaps literally) for Kingdom that will never fade away or be overthrown.

 

This idea is something that we need to get ahold of and let sink deep in our spirits until it becomes part of our thinking and world view. Events are racing at breakneck speed toward the conclusion of all things. The end will come at it's appointed time.