Citizenship, Regardless of Leadership

Living in a foreign country makes me think of citizenship in ways I never have before. Here in La Vega there are snapshots of the way people feel about their citizenship. A lot of Dominicans want to identify with me immediately, so they let me know they're trying to get a visa to visit New York (because NY is probably very close to Oregon, and by the way do I know anyone at the embassy that can make their paperwork go faster?). The other foreigners that I see down here are quite quick to recognize how things are in THEIR COUNTRY.

I'm one of those foreigners. Shoot, I'm worse, cuz I not only go out of my to note the difference between the US and DR, I also take great pains to tell people how much different Portland is from the rest of the country. I speak fondly of the finer points of having more restaurants per capita than other cities, more hiking trails than most states, and a far milder climate than most places in the world. I tell them that some native american tribes died almost instantly when they encountered the trials of white men because of how easy and unchallenging their lives were near the Rogue River.

Funny, I can't really tell you much about politics back home. My citizenship is tied to a place and a lifestyle, but not so much to the leadership. I read verses like Philippians 1:27 and feel like I know what Paul means; regardless of leadership, we've got a citizenship into a lifestyle that doesn't depend on the president of a company, leader of a church, or director of a program. My allegiance is to a different kind of movement--a movement without a flag, motto, or pledge. I joke about "Jesus For President" as a way of saying that I don't really care who the president of the US is, and really it's true. No matter if Obama or Ron Paul are elected, I will still have my primary citizenship to a God who poured everything into a human form, came and lived with us, and continues to pursue us. I follow an active God who cares for the broken people we consider worthless. I serve a God that can melt a heart that is as numb and hard as my own. Yep.