Growing up in both America and Canada, this week has always been a special time of the year for me as Canada Day and Independence Day fall on the same week.
The bible clearly shows that God cares about nations and cities, and God teaches us to organize ourselves in ways where citizens can flourish.
For example, God calls leaders to not abuse their authority (Matt. 20:25-28) and spiritual teachers to be held to a stricter account (Jas. 3:1). He also commands us to respect the authorities that God has placed in government (Romans 13:1-7).
This week, I encourage you to pray for the welfare of the nation in which we dwell and for the leaders that serve us.
I watched a soccer match on Monday between Portugal and Slovenia in the UEFA European Championship.
In this match, Cristiano Ronaldo—one of the greatest players of all time—had a chance to close the game in extra time with a penalty kick, but the goalkeeper saved his shot. Immediately following the missed opportunity, the camera caught a close-up of Ronaldo’s face—he was in tears. This match clearly meant a lot to him. Being an older player, this will be his last showing at the Euro, and he was under much pressure to perform, but he missed the golden opportunity.
Later in the match, his teammates performed spectacularly in the penalty shootout and won. Each time his teammate scored or saved a goal, Ronaldo was cheering enthusiastically.
Here’s the lesson: It’s not all about one player; soccer is a team sport. The same goes for a nation. It’s not individual heroes that make us great. Thriving as a nation is a team thing. Pray for Canada and participate in it to make it a great home for all of us.
