When my wife and I hit our 25th wedding anniversary, we celebrated heartily. We recalled our happiest moments and the surprising twists of providence that brought us to places and people we never could have anticipated. Celebration, however, came with contemplation. While we looked back with gratitude, we also looked forward by recommitting ourselves to the marriage we wished to cultivate by God’s grace.

Our nation marks 250 years of the Declaration of Independence this year. An anniversary of such import calls for remembrance and rejoicing, and it should come with much fanfare. I’m always happy to do my part with burgers and fireworks! But anniversaries also invite reflection on where we have been and what we long to become. Remember, rejoice, reflect and recommit: It is a good rhythm for the covenant of marriage, and it is a good rhythm for our commitments as a nation.

The Declaration boldly proclaims: “All men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights — Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Those words still stir the soul, but its ultimate fulfillment is found in a higher citizenship.

As Christians in America, we hold dual citizenship. We belong to this beloved country, but we pledge an even deeper allegiance to a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:16). I was born a U.S. citizen but reborn a citizen of God’s kingdom (Philippians 3:20). And I have found that living faithfully under Christ’s lordship does not diminish my love of country but roots it in a grander vision of truth, goodness, loyalty
and justice.

For me, faith in America began as faith from America. Long before our family knew the word “evangelical,” my parents encountered the good-news people who had come to South Korea. Missionaries and evangelical organizations came to proclaim the gospel in word and demonstrate it in deed that helped rebuild every facet of society.

I have been blessed by the reach of that love. A Lutheran minister befriended my parents in Korea. An Irish Catholic family rented us their basement apartment in New York City. A Korean Presbyterian church loved us through my childhood. And a Baptist youth pastor shared the good news of Jesus with me in a parking lot, leading me in a prayer to receive Christ as my Savior. Our story, like so many immigrant stories, is woven together by believers from different traditions, bound by one gospel.

This anniversary, may we remember what we have been given, rejoice in God’s faithfulness, reflect honestly on our calling as Christians in the United States, and recommit to live as citizens of heaven on American soil.  

Walter Kim

Walter Kim became the president of the National Association of Evangelicals in January 2020. He previously served as a pastor at Boston’s historic Park Street Church and at churches in Vancouver, Canada and Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as a campus chaplain at Yale University. He preaches, writes and engages in collaborative leadership to connect the Bible to the intellectual and cultural issues of the day. He regularly teaches in conferences and classrooms; addresses faith concerns with elected officials and public institutions; and provides theological and cultural commentary to leading news outlets. He serves on the boards of Christianity Today and World Relief and consults with a wide range of organizations. Kim received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, his M.Div. from Regent College in Vancouver, and his B.A. from Northwestern University.