The above declaration is from a movement Call 2 Fall which desires to get 40,000 American churches to literally get on their knees on Sunday, July 5--repenting of sin and asking for God to "heal our land."Call 2 Fall utilizes a very popular scripture from the Old Testament book of Chronicles to support this request:
...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (II Chronicles 7:14)
Let me begin with the positives.
1. Repentance is never a bad idea.
As the people of God--individually and collectively--we are always well served to get on our knees, allow God's Spirit to move and convict us where necessary, seek forgiveness, and then allow ourselves to be embraced by God's transforming love.
2. Ditto humility.
Christians (myself included) can often be an arrogant lot, blind to our own sins and failures and eager to highlight those of others--especially non-Christians but, also, perfectly willing to judge our brothers and sisters in Christ. Humility is an underused virtue.
Now the negatives:
1. Scriptural context.
The cited passage of Scripture from II Chronicles 7 does not exist in a void. As you can see from the ellipse (...if my people) that begins verse 14, there is more to it. This verse is part of a larger sentence, paragraph, and section of Scripture. It is taken from King Solomon's dedication of the temple to God and it is a part of God's response to Solomon.
The first part of the sentence that God utters--the part on the other side of the ellipse, goes like this: "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people and THEN the section continues with verse 14, quoted above.
After verse 14 God goes on to tell Solomon that as long he (and his descendants after him) keeps the commands and decrees of God, as long as he stays true to God, God will inhabit the temple and keep the family on the throne.
We Christians are fond of lifting portions of Scripture--even partial sentences!--to suit our means, to make God's Word say what we want it to say. This is a dangerous thing to do that leads to a narrow view of Scripture and contributes to errors in interpretation.
2. Scriptural Interpretation.
If we (the Church) want to bring this particular verse (14) forward into the 21st century, how do we properly do that? The key are the words "my people" and "land."
When God refers to "my people" God is referring to the Israelites, those with whom God made a covenant--the men, women, and children who belong to God. When we (Christians) read the words "my people" today, we should read that as the Church. All people throughout the world, in every nation, who confess Christ are God's "people."
Unfortunately, the error that is often made by the churches in the United States is to read "my people" as, at best, "American Christians" and, at worst, "all people of America whether they live as Christ's disciples or not." The worldwide, cross-cultural nature of God's Church is abandoned in favor of an American only Church.
Obviously this is wrong, but it's a very common misinterpretation.
This misinterpretation is helped along by incorrectly understanding the word "land," as well. Read in an American-centric manner, with "my people" only applying to American Christians, the word "land" becomes synonymous with "the United States." The people of God in the time of Solomon had a "land" given them by God. The Church today does not have a designated "land," but rather exists all throughout the world, in every country, linked together not by soil but by common profession of Christ as Lord.
The verse is then commonly read and misunderstood this way by a lot of Christians:
If America, who is called by my name, will humble itself and pray and seek my face and turn from its wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal the United States of America.
The better way for Christians to read this verse--again, assuming we want to bring it into the 21st century and seek to apply it today--would be like this:
...if my people (the Church), who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal the Church.
You see the difference?
3. Confusion of Church and Nation and myopic American focus.
With this understanding of interpretation, here again is the original declaration from the folks at Call 2 Fall, based on II Chronicles 7:14:
I will answer God's call to fall on my knees in humility and seek his face in repentance so that He might forgive my sins and heal our land.
If it ended with a period after the word "sins" I would have no problem with it. Or, if it said "heal the Church" instead of "heal our land" I would be good to go.
But this declaration, as well-meaning as its intentions are, is ultimately a misinterpretation of Scripture and actually, I believe, serves to harm the Church. Let me explain.
The interpretation of II Chronicles 7:14 by Call 2 Fall reinforces the bad theology that America is in some way the "new Israel," a nation with whom God has made a special covenant. This view holds that it is the nation of America that is the "city on a hill" that shines brightly for God, drawing people to Christ.
This is very bad theology. The special relationship that God has established, through Jesus, is with the Church. And again, the Church is anybody and everybody that confesses Christ, regardless of nation. It is the Church that is to be that beacon of God's love, shining in such a way that people are drawn to and embraced by God's love.
When Christians repent and humble themselves, therefore, it should not be with the expectation that God is going to magically restore the United States to a status of "Christian" nation that somehow has a special "in" with God. This status never existed and was never meant to exist. That "status" and that "in" are for the Church.
Rather, when Christians repent and humble themselves and want to pray in the manner of II Chronicles 7:14, they are repenting on behalf of the Church. We would be asking God to examine us; to forgive us for the sins that cause us to be broken and that mute the light of Christ to a world that needs God's love. We would praying so that we might be healed and whole so that we could truly be the Church.
This is how I would encourage Christians to pray on July 5th (and every day) and the call to fall that makes Scriptural and theological sense.
Thoughts?
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5 comments:
My thoughts are that anytime we try to place God in our box - like if enough of us pray then God will heal our land (whatever that specifically means since it was originally referring to lack of rain or abundance of locust) - we limit God's ability to work in us. How about being humble and repenting, then asking God for wisdom in how we can be lights wherever we are in the dark world and recognizing how and where God is working around us and making sure we're taking part in it. If all believers did that there would be a lot of healing taking place.
American Christians are certainly no more "God's People" than any other Christians, so if the intent is to claim this Scripture as some kind of promise exclusively for the United States, it does seem arrogant. I wonder if that's true for most folks who would participate in this day, or if they aren't just genuinely concerned with the brokenness around them and reaching out for healing. God knows the hearts of all who seek Him, whoever and wherever they may be: "The fervent prayer of a righteous man (or woman) availeth much" both in the Church universal and our own families, neighborhoods, and yes, our country, as well.
Paul's Blog:
Thoughts... To many across the world the "healing of America" will mean oppression and war. It is no secret that America is the most powerful and wealthiest entity in the world. In a state of economic crisis and political tension we are forced to look at ourselves and consider the consequences of our own sin. When "America" is in a sate of surplus and "freedom" we forget to consider how our actions affect our international relations, and neighbor relations. I am not saying "America" does nothing good, or doesn't give enough. It is just an observation that when we hurt (individually and corporately) we actually stop running around doing/achieving/competing in life and take a look at how we can become better (for God, ourselves, and for others). Before I go on and on, I'll say thank you for your thoughts and for your courage to share something that is not "popular" for the sake of the Word.
I, like you, feel that the verse should now be referenced to the church not the USA. It is all to painfully obvious that America is not a new Israel or anything of that sort. Although we have truly been blessed beyond belief here, it is very misguided to think that God has a special place in his heart for the US as a whole. We are a bit arrogant in thinking that God loves his followers here more than say in Darfur or Palestine or Iraq. We have done as much if not more to damage the cause of Christ as any of those Nations. But I digress, nice post Good on you.
I'll play devil's advocate. What's wrong with praying for your country, or your neighborhood, or your city, as long as it's not at the exclusion of someone else?
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