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Nations

             Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. (Psalm 33:12)

         

          There are people who claim that America is an exceptional nation, a nation that has been chosen and blessed by God. I agree, but after that, we differ because I believe that every other nation has been chosen by God to fulfill some role in history and blessed with the capacity to do so. Pharaoh was chosen by God. So was Moses, and Joshua, and the judges, and the prophets, and Nebuchadnezzar, Xerxes, Darius, Alexander, Antipas, Herod, the disciples, and even Pilate and the emperors of Rome. Each nation, and each person has a role to play in things – some major, some as extras.

          Out of all the nations, God chose the people who weren’t a nation, a people who couldn’t keep their nation together and who regularly did everything in their power to reject God: the Jews. And through that nation, He established a new nation that has never actually possessed a geographic base – the Christians. But we must keep in mind that He never broke promises that He made to other nations, either.

          What I am saying is that our nation, the United State of America, will be blessed by God, but it is not the nation He has chosen for His own inheritance. It is His people within that nation who are the nation He will bless. I love America as the nation God has given to me as my home. I tear up over the national anthem and “God Bless the USA” just as I tear up over countless hymns and Christian songs, and over both the flag and the cross.

          It is not our task to create a Christian nation. It is our task to create more Christians and to follow our Lord. When others start talking about our return to greatness being tied to our faith as Christians, I struggle. Should the goal be to have a great nation? When “greatness” is raised to the principle issue, a song by Don Francisco comes to mind. It’s about Balaam and his talking donkey. Here’s the conclusion of the song:

 

The Lord’s the one who makes the choice of the instrument He’s usin’

We don’t know the reasons and the plans behind his choosin’

So when the Lord starts usin’ you, don’t pay it any mind

He could have used the dog next door if He’d been so inclined.

                                                (Don Francisco, Balaam)

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