A Happy Fourth of July to all of you who are Americans like myself. I was reminded recently of the holiday celebrating our national independence by a Mongolian. It seemed odd to me at the time that I should have forgotten that it was coming up. But, of course, July 4 doesn't merit any extra consideration here in Mongolia. It's just another day. It's easy to let it slip by without thinking much about it.
But even if you're an American it is easy to forget that we have an even greater country. The book of Hebrews tells us that those who lived by faith desired "a better country." They confessed that they were "strangers and pilgrims" on the earth. Abraham was called by God out of Sumeria perhaps the most technologically advanced and most prosperous country of his day. We are reminded that had he wanted to, he could have returned to his home country; but he realized that there was an even greater country.
As Americans we rightfully are proud of our nation's heritage and its greatness. But there is a greater country: it is an eternal country where we will spend forever in the presence of God. Eye has not seen what God has prepared for those who wait on Him. There is a city, says Hebrews 11, "whose builder and maker is God." It is an awe-inspiring thought to be a citizen of such a country. That is what makes living here in Mongolia bearable when everything seems to be so difficult, it makes being away from family possible, it makes speaking a strange language doable, it makes missing out on American prosperity unremarkable, and it makes struggling with the slow process of starting a church enjoyable.
We have a city whose builder and maker is God, a country that is far better than any nation on this earth. So what on earth are we doing for heaven's sake?
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