On Nations

With the whole Quebec thing coming up again, I've had ample opportunity to consider the idea of a nation and how we derive our identities from the nation we call our own.

First of all, I find it interesting that on many survey and census forms in Canada, when people are asked what nationality they come from, Canadians tend to answer with things like French, English, Scottish, Ukrainian, etc. For many Canadians, Canadian doesn't count as a nationality.

But then why do we feel threatened when les Quebecois want to be identified as a nationality? If we, who live in English Canada, don't see ourselves as primarily Canadian, why should we expect the people of Quebec to? Yet, just because Quebecois are different than English Canadians doesn't mean they're not Canadian. Our differences make Canada a much more interesting place to live and our attempts to live at peace with each other are a testament to the rest of the world that in Canada differences are celebrated and we're free to live with whatever culture we bring to the table.

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1 Peter 2:9-10 (NLT)
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God's holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

[10] "Once you were not a people;
now you are the people of God.
Once you received none of God's mercy;
now you have received his mercy."

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Christians have the same problem.

First of all, I wouldn't be surprised if, when asked what religion we follow, many of us would respond saying Mennonite, Catholic, Methodist, Reform, etc. For many Christians, Christianity only counts as it's defined by their particular denomination.

We bellyache loudly about how the American Evangelicals are misrepresenting Christianity to the world and giving all of us a bad name. We have endless innuendoes that help us to communicate how we think about other parts of the Christian community (how often has "Yeah, but he's Catholic" counted as a reason for someone's argument to be wrong?). If we can't even get along with others within our own faith, how do we expect to convince others to join it?

If we could at least attempt to celebrate the differences that make the Body of Christ so dynamic and flexible, the discussion that would result and, I'm convinced, the headway we would make would show the world how, in Christ, there is freedom to bring the things that define you as a person into the nation that is God's.

Just like there is room for distinct people groups within the Dominion of Canada, allowing for the differences we find between French, Scottish and Japanese-Canadians, there is room for distinct belief groups within the Nation of God. Having Catholic, Lutheran, and Baptist-Christians is no problem, as long as we remember to include the after-the-hyphen stipulation.

So let's continue to have our differences, openly debate them, and then celebrate the fact that the Body of Christ can be diverse and include all of our idiosyncrasies. Meanwhile let us not lose focus on the cross, which is the thing that unifies us all into the one Nation God meant us to be.