Greetings:

I pledge allegiance to the flag                                                                                            I pledge allegiance to the cross                                

Of the United States of America                                                                                      Of Christ our God and Savior                                    

And to the Republic for which it stands;                                                                       And to the faith for which it stands;                        

One Nation, under God, indivisible                                                                                One Confession under God, indivisible       

With liberty and justice for all.                                                                                       With God’s freedom and justice for all.

Allegiance, pledging allegiance, seems so simple doesn’t it?  Above I wrote two Pledges of Allegiance.  There seems to be a perpetual question about where a person’s allegiances lie.    The answers vary and for natural and good reasons.  Some are age related.  Those who have lived a long time and participated in the many changes and advancements in our nation, and the whole world, view allegiance with the understanding that this nation has saved the world from tyranny many times in their lifetime typically hold a positive attitude of allegiance to our country.  Some have never known what their seniors dealt with have a different grasp of allegiance.  Our world is much more easily navigated today than in the past permitting movement of people more fluidly do not understand the allegiances people bring with them of where they came from.  Influences of philosophical ideologies and teachings make impressions on ones allegiances.  Sincerity of commitment determines the strength of allegiances.   Strength of allegiances has been under attack for decades.  I am old enough to have lived during the happy hippie days when college students were attacking the systems of education.  FYI those students are the professors and teachers who brought the next level of attack on allegiances to teachers today.  I brought up the information above for illustration purposes only and have no desire to belabor the topic any further.  We know what we think about our own and the projected view of allegiances to our neighborhood and nation and world.                           

In view of the influences on our allegiances to our world I would like to have you focus on the second Pledge I wrote above. Although the world around us truly wants us to be fluid in our allegiances we have a place where our allegiance is rock solid.  The Bible reminds us in   Heb. 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”  Yes, dear friends we have been brought in to the same faith as all believers in the same Savior who has promised us the same rewards.  When God made the first promise to send a Savior to Adam and Eve He incorporated us in that promise.  He kept the promise and Christ Jesus fulfilled it by His death on the cross and sealed it by His resurrection and has given it to us.  When we were brought into true and abiding faith in Christ we pledged our allegiance to Him.  He alone brought and keeps us in faith.  This action by Christ on our behalf instills in us a common confession of a common faith. By the one common faith we are never divided in allegiance as it comes from the same source for all believers.  God never demanded we act out our allegiance in some uniform model thus He gives leeway for the expression of faith through the different Church bodies that there are.  We a Lutherans pledge our allegiance to the cross the way we do because we firmly believe our model expresses the unchangeable teaching of the Scriptures in a true, respectful and glorifying way.                                                                                                                                                                                                            

However as it is with anything else we pledge our allegiance to God expects us to remain faithful and dedicated to the pledge we have made to the cross and Christ our Savior.  I pray you keep you pledge of allegiance to the cross with the same dedication with which He gave it to you.   

Blessings,  Pastor Rehborg