#godisnotanamerican

Sometimes, I like to wax on and on about topics. For example, my post, Like a Girl, was pretty lengthy. And while that's enjoyable for me, sometimes my thoughts need to be more succinct.

So all I'm doing today is asking some questions that have long rolled around in my mind.

For those of us who are Christians and also live in America, do we first find our identity as Christians or as Americans?

If we look honestly inside our hearts and our souls, what is the answer?

Because they are not one and the same.

Why do we interpret Christ's call to share Him with "all nations" to simply mean people groups and languages spoken rather than their political nation, yet insist that the political nation of America be a "Christian nation?"

Why do we rejoice when people believe in Christ in oppressive countries around the world and declare that God is moving in huge ways, and yet despair when our country's leaders do not make Christianity easy or popular here, as if God has been stopped by laws and bills?

Why do we live and die by having a legalistic, political agenda endorsed and enforced by our party of choice, rather than realizing that changing someone's mind only forces them into legalism? Why are in the business of changing minds when Christ is in the business of changing hearts?

Why can we debate ad nauseam a point like abortion with people who don't know Jesus and become so focused on showing how wrong they are that we forget the only thing that matters in the case for eternity?

Why do we feel more comfortable around those who share our same political beliefs than we do around those who share a place in our family for all eternity? We should have more in common with people in Papua New Guinea who believe in Christ than we do with that coworker sitting next to us at lunch talking about our favorite TV show or politician.

Is there something fundamentally lacking in our faith because we read verses that tell us that those who are persecuted for Christ are blessed and part of a heavenly kingdom, we see Believers enduring that persecution with joy and hope, and yet we don't understand how those could go together? Because we whine and complain when our government becomes increasingly constricted for those who are Believers rather than continue on and endure the persecution that comes our way with joy because we have a heavenly kingdom far greater that the kingdoms of this earth?

Do we have hearts full of patriotism, or hearts full of Christ? Are we on our knees for the state of our nation or for the hearts of its people?

There is a difference.