As we get closer to Vacation Bible School season, my mind goes back to wonderful nostalgic memories of VBS as a kid. I am so thankful for a church family that loved kids so much that they would invest volunteer hours and dollars into a week of focused faith development. We would march into the Sanctuary singing “Onward Christian Soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus, going on before.” Many of us had never marched before, so it was kinda awkward trying to stay in step. For some reason, the boys were more out of step than the girls even with the teacher starting us out with “right, left, right, left.” Maybe it was a developmental thing; you know, a brain and motor skill thing that girls get before boys. Anyway, we could have changed the song to: “awkward Christian neophytes, lurching like baby giraffes, with the grace of Jesus, loving us anyway.” When we arrived in the Worship Center we put our hands over our hearts and pledged our allegiance to the American Flag, the Bible, and the Christian Flag.
Unintentionally, and again, perhaps, (spiritually) awkwardly, we may have begun to march in the direction of something that valued national patriotism equal to or greater than the worship of God Almighty. Don’t get me wrong, God has blessed America. Everyone of us is blessed to live in this great country and we should all truely pledge our allegiance to all the good our flag represents, we should also love God’s Word, and highly value the symbols of our faith, but there is no equal to God on Earth or in Heaven and He should be worshiped far above anything else. The first two of the ten commandments say, “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them;” (Exodus 20:3-5 NIV-GK) Once again, God in His grace, allowed us all to mature and develop in our understanding of our relationship to Him. Many among us first understood the Gospel of Christ in Vacation Bible School. I’m not sure I would change any of my experiences, if I could go back. My life has been shaped for the better by those early faith events. I would, however, perhaps try to help kids understand that a personal relationship with our Awesome God through Jesus Christ is far above anything we can march, pledge, or salute our allegiance to.
Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all.
