Two Kingdoms

As everyone who reads this blog knows by now, Anita and Robbie were in an accident a couple weeks ago and our car was totaled. Over the past couple weeks our insurance agent has had all kinds of issues with the other guy and his insurance company. Yesterday, we found out why. He hadn't been paying his premiums and, ten days before he hit us, his insurance was revoked. So now we have an uninsured driver case on our hands.

Thankfully, our insurance covers things like this so, with the exception of our deductible, everything else will be paid for (we've already received the money for both our new car seat and the old car, and all of our medical expenses have been billed straight to the insurance company with no copay).

During this time, Anita and I have been wrestling with how to best handle the situation. We've addressed the issue some over on the fshbwl, both in this article and on this podcast, but this whole uninsured motorist gig puts a new wrinkle in the situation.

So, what are we going to do? We're going to let our government, which, like all government, God established, in part, to punish the wicked (Romans 13), take care of things ... and we'll help them out in the process.

I just happen to know our district police commander, so, last night I sent her an email, explained the situation, and asked what we could to do to add to the existing charges, after all, the guy didn't have insurance and yet presented invalid insurance at the scene of the accident. This morning I received a message from her and she's going to follow up on it with the DA.

I'm not a vengeful person, and there's no gain for us in this course of action, but I do believe that God has given us government for a reason. When we break the laws, we deserve the full punishment we receive (which is why we pay all of our parking tickets, took a trip to court a couple years ago, and was shocked when this happened).

Hopefully a swift kick in the rear from Uncle Sam will prompt the other driver to, if nothing else, be a better member of society who works to serve his neighbors (although it would be great if, somehow in all this, there would be a great Law smackdown that would prepare the way for the Gospel).

Last night I was in the middle of the two kingdoms, the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of grace, blurring. For those of you who aren't familiar with the basic concept of the two kingdoms, it is basically a piece of Christian theology that says God rules creation in two different ways.

On one hand, God rules the spiritual realm through his Church and her proclamation of grace, that is, the unearned forgiveness of sin. On the other hand, God rules the civil realm through the government and the laws that they establish. So, the job of the Church is to forgive and the job of the government is to lay the smack down.

As a side note, this is why you can't have a Christian nation ... the government would have to forgive all criminal offenses because it would have to operate from a realm of grace. Now, this doesn't mean that you can't have a government built on a Judeo-Christian ethic, but that doesn't demand that you be Christian (or even Jewish, you just have to follow natural law).

Well, last night, I was coming back from the Peace with Christ confirmation retreat when I noticed a car oddly parked on the side of the road. I thought to myself, "That's a cop and I'm in a speed trap." This was followed by, "How fast am I going?" and, "What is the limit anyway?" I knew I was in trouble when the lights started flashing before I even passed him.

He informed me that I was well over the limit and then looked at my proof of insurance for a moment before asking if I had proof that hadn't expired. It was about this time I knew that I was in some serious trouble. He took my license and registration back to his car and we sat a while.

As we waited my mind drifted back to systematics classes with Dr. Biermann telling us that even if we're forgiven before God, it's the government's job to punish us so being a Christian won't get you out of speeding tickets. As I saw the officer walk back to the car I thought, "Well, I blew it, I'll pay the fine, and get on with life."

Then the kingdom's blurred as the officer returned my license and registration along with a business card stating his name. He said that without proof of insurance I'd have to make an appearance in court and he figured that I didn't have time to come down to Colorado Springs just to show a judge a piece of paper, so he let me off with a warning on both counts.

Sometimes it can be rather nice to have the kingdoms blur.

I've got to be honest, I'm really thankful the 4th of July didn't fall on a Sunday this year. Why? Because that just seems to that the whole notion of a America being founded as a Christian nation and sending it into overdrive. We end up mixing the flag and the cross and quite honestly, I causes my gut to churn and my blood to boil.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-American. I'm one of the few people I know who has to hold back tears every time I hear the national anthem, I get pissed when I see people flying their flags the wrong way (yes, there is a right and wrong way), and, having spent time in other parts of the world, I'm incredibly thankful that I was born here. It's not a surfacy radical nationalism that makes special appearances when stirred up, but a deep seeded patriotism and love for my country.

At the same time, I don't want an American flag in my church, I don't want to sing "God Bless America" on a Sunday morning, and I don't believe the United States is or should be a Christian nation (although I would agree that our nation was founded on a Judeo-Christian ethic and thus all the references to the 10 Commandments in the architecture of our early legal buildings).

So, why do I say this? First, the Church is not about any nation, race, or tongue ... the Church is for all people, in all places, and in all times. To bring elements of patriotism into the Church only seems to encourage confusion about this reality (especially given the current tension with countries in the Middle East that do mix Islam with their national status).

Second, God has given the Church and the State two entirely different rolls or vocations. The Church has been given the Gospel and is called to proclaim the forgiveness of sin while the State has been given the sword and is called to maintain order and protect their citizens. These distinctions must be honored (which by the way means that the Church should stay out of politics).

So, where do Christians who are citizens of the United States sit in all this? I'd say the answer is found once again in vocation ... specifically the vocation of citizenship. While God calls the Church to proclaim the Gospel, he calls Christians to (among other things) be good citizens. In the United States this means things like voting, working for justice (legal and social), obeying the laws of the land, and, when called, to serve jury duty.

In short, be a Christian who also happens to be an American ... don't be an American Christian.