Yancey on the Two Kingdoms

I will not often cede this space almost entirely to another voice, but the observations by Philip Yancey I share today so closely mirror my own thoughts and experience, that I could not say it better (despite the whispers of Narcissus in my ear.) The following excerpt is from the last chapter of The Jesus I Never Knew.

"Clearly, the kingdom of God operates by a set of rules different from any earthly kingdom's. God's kingdom has no geographical borders, no capital city, no parliament building, no royal trappings that you can see. Its followers live right among their enemies, not separated from them by a border fence or wall. It lives, and grows, on the inside of human beings.

"Those of us who follow Jesus thus possess a kind of dual citizenship. We live in an external kingdom of family and cities and nationhood, while at the same time belonging to the kingdom of God.... We have seen vivid demonstrations of the clash of kingdoms in our own time-- Albania, the U.S.S.R., China.... Yet despite this government oppression, a spiritual revival broke out [in China] that could well be the largest in the history of the church.

"In fact, problems seem to arise when the church becomes too external, and gets too cozy with government... I grew up in a church that proudly displayed the "Christian flag" next to the Stars and Stripes, and we would pledge allegiance to both. People would apply to the United States passages from the Old Testament that were obviously intended for a time when God worked through a visible kingdom on earth, the nation of Israel. For example, I often heard this verse quoted as a formula for national revival: 'If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.' The principle may apply in a general way, of course, but the specific promise was given as part of God's covenant relationship with the ancient Hebrews... Have we any reason to assume God has a similar covenant with the U.S.?

"Indeed, have we any indication that God now judges the U.S. or any other country as a national entity? [Italics Yancey's] As I now reflect on Jesus' stories of the kingdom, I sense that much uneasiness among Christians today stems from a confusion of the two kingdoms, visible and invisible. Each time an election rolls around, Christians debate whether this or that candidate is 'God's man for the White House....' Nowadays, as the U.S. grows increasingly secularized, it appears that church and state are heading in different directions. The more I understand Jesus' message of the kingdom of God, the less alarm I feel over that trend.

"Ironically, if the United States is truly sliding down a slippery moral slope, that may better allow the church... to 'set up a new sign... which is full of promise' [quoting Karl Barth.] I would prefer, I must admit, to live in a country where the majority of people follow the Ten Commandments, act with civility toward each other, and bow their heads once a day for a bland, nonpartisan prayer. I feel a certain nostalgia for the social climate of the 1950's in which I grew up. But if that environment does not return, I will not lose any sleep. As America slides, I will work and pray for the kingdom of God to advance. If the gates of hell cannot prevail against the church, the contemporary political scene hardly offers much threat."