Australia Day 2024 has become a source of controversy. Politicians, and even the Australian men’s cricket captain, have intervened with varied views. Whether we go to this or that store and buy patriotic goods to display has suddenly become a test of national loyalty or political correctness. It’s enough to make you throw another shrimp on the barbie and shake your head.
There are deeper issues behind the debate over 26th January. It raises questions for Christian people. What should be our attitude towards the land of our birth, or our adopted homeland?
The Bible teaches that our eternal home is elsewhere – in God’s coming new creation (Heb 13:14). That’s the ultimate citizenship (Phil 3:20). Like the ancient people of God, we look forward to the eternal city which is the better county by far (Heb 11:10, 14-16).
So, where does that leave Australian Christians with respect to our nation?
Jesus teaches us to pay our taxes, even to an ungodly ruler such as the Roman emperor (Matthew 22:18-21). Paul tells us to submit to governing authorities and pray for them (Rom 13:1;1 Tim 2:1). Peter tells us to be subject to human institutions and honour the emperor (1 Pet 2:13&17). Australian Christians sometimes think that our governments do daft and ungodly things, but they are amateurs at folly and ungodliness as compared with figures such as Nero.
Note also that the same Paul who states his heavenly citizenship, was prepared to wave his Roman passport when it suited and to claim his legal rights (Acts 16:37-38; 22:25-28). His action there, illustrates an important point. The Christian cannot join the ‘my country right or wrong’ or the ‘love it or leave it’ crowd. Neither do we step aside in separatism and abandon our homeland to itself. Rather the Christian has a tension between a positive and responsible engagement with our earthly home, while being citizens of Jesus’ kingdom. This is another of those ‘both – and’ moments in the Christian life.
An illustration may help. My wife and I lived in another country for almost 12 years. We loved this country. I gladly became a permanent resident (reviewed every five years). We ate local food, obeyed the local laws, paid taxes, made lasting local friendships and learnt some local language. But always there was that Australian passport, the foreigner’s lane at immigration and those times of the year when we knew that we didn’t really belong.
I fly into Australia on our national carrier just before January 26th. Hopefully the plane will come south over Sydney with a harbour and Opera House view just as ‘I still call Australia home’ is played over the intercom. It will be good to be back in the country that I call home and for which I am thankful.
January 26th? What a great day to do as the Bible says and pray for our nation and its leaders (2 Tim 2:1-2). Australia is not the Christian’s forever home, but for now it is the place to express our heavenly citizenship.
David Burke
Moderator General
24th January 2024