patriotism vs. faith

Let me start by saying that this post will make many of you angry, especially fellow friends I have who are in the military. That is okay with me. I have offended more than one person in my lifetime for speaking what God has put on my heart. Of course, when I am told I am wrong, it usually comes from another who says it was what God put on their heart. If this was on Facebook, I'd probably spark the debate of the century. But since my Facebook is deleted, finally, I feel a bit more "safe" writing here. I can at least read comments before they are posted and a further debate won't happen from people who comment about those comments that offended them.

We live in a country that has taken the idea of pride and patriotism to another level. We are totally convinced that because we are proud of our country, which we also think is a "Christian" country, we therefore have faith in Jesus Christ.

A terrorist who has done unimaginable, horrible wicked things to others in this world (NOT just the United States) has been killed. Our country chose to use this as an occasion to celebrate, to party. The things I saw and heard people say about this happening were just as unimaginable and horrible as the things that the one who was killed did. I was utterly disgusted by many military folks who spoke these words and also call themselves "Christian" just because they aren't Jewish, Muslim, or athiest. An occasional acknowledgement of the existence of God does NOT make you a Christian. If you can rejoice in another person's death, no matter how evil this person was, then you do not know the heart of Christ. If you use filthy language on your Facebook status and yell to the masses "chop off his f****** head," you are NOT a Christian. Or even if you pray and ask God to protect the soldiers and Americans, but you don't pray for the people who have to LIVE in the same country as these terrorists, then you are not a Christian.

We need to go back to our Bible's and read what Jesus said. We are to LOVE our enemies. PRAY for those who persecute others. Go to the ends of the earth with GOOD news, not hateful threats of brutality.

Every single man's heart on this planet is turned away from God and against what is good because of sin. There is not a one of us who isn't wicked in some way in our hearts.

We are fighting a battle that has been going on since Adam and Eve took a bite of the apple. It is NOT a battle of flesh. It is a battle against Satan, who has manipulated mens' evil hearts that have resulted in evil deeds and actions. But here lies the problem. All of us have ugliness in our hearts. Some of us murder in our hearts; others murder through physical ways.

No justice has been done because You-Know-Who has died. There is only ONE man who has ever been on this earth who brought about TRUE justice through His death, and His name is Jesus Christ. You can say what you want about that, but I can guarentee you that the pain people feel over their loved ones' deaths from 9-11 will not be appeased just because another person died. There are more terrorists left. There will ALWAYS be terrorists on this planet until Jesus Christ returns and sets up His Kingdom, a Kingdom that won't include anyone with hate in their heart, even hate against another terrorist.

Last night as I watched the USA cheer over this terrorists death, I thought about how Jesus was feeling. No doubt that You-Know-Who had already met his Maker. As I thought about this, and sat watching with my husband soldier, who was also disgraced at the cheers of the crowds, I thought about Christ's reaction.

I thought about the tears pouring down Jesus' face as he met You-Know-Who. I could almost hear Him say "O___, I loved you. I gave My life for you. Why did you hate Me? Why did you speak against Me? I poured out My blood for you, so that you could be set FREE from sin and death. So that you could live with Me forever. And now it is too late."

THIS is what I felt last night. Not joy. Not happiness. Not relief. Not justice. But I felt the pain of Jesus as He met another human created in His image who the real Enemy, Satan, won to his side.

My faith in Jesus Christ has absolutely nothing to do with how I feel about my country. There are Christians who live in other countries that are not, and never have been, founded on religious principles, and their faith in God is 10 times stronger than my own, and it is BECAUSE they live in a country that has been won over by the Enemy's schemes. They could care less about patriotism because they know that in the end, nation will fight against nation, and all nations will fall, and the true Kingdom will come about.

That Kingdom is the one I choose to live for. I am a military wife, and I am not living for the military, or my country, or a flag. I am living for Jesus Christ. I bow down and salute to Him. I find justice in the shadow of the Cross. And the only revenge I seek is against the Enemy who seeks to destroy and control every man's heart, and has won over the hearts of those who have the audacity to call themselves a follower of Him.

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