I’ve been enjoying Ken Burn’s “The Roosevelt’s” this week on TV. As often happens when I learn the details of history, I see the hand of God at work. I’ve heard it said, “A country gets the leaders it deserves.” But from my perspective, sometimes we get the right leaders at the right time. And God is able to use even our flawed leaders in amazing ways.
One story I’ve heard about President Franklin Roosevelt happened in 1938 when he was asked to open the convention of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Roosevelt began his address by saying: “My fellow immigrants ….”
For those of us who are proud of our colonial roots (I recently learned I am a son of the American Revolution through the Rev. Jedidiah Turner!), it’s good to be reminded we are all sojourners here. In Lev. 19:34, God communicated a similar message when he warned his people to welcome the stranger: “for once you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”
As Americans, we should be proud of our citizenship in a great nation. As disciples of Jesus, we should be even prouder to be citizens of the Kingdom and members of a community that has no borders.