The last verse of “America the Beautiful” speaks of the “patriot’s dream that sees beyond the years” to an eternal city that “gleams undimmed by human tears,” echoing today’s reading from Hebrews.
Sometimes we are tempted as citizens to make a false choice: do we work toward a better America here and now, or do we focus on the eternal city of God that will one day come from heaven when Christ comes in His Kingdom?
The truth is, we can do both. It is precisely by keeping our vision focused on the ideal of God’s eternal city, our heavenly homeland, that we learn how to improve our present city and nation. Think of it this way: no one can draw a perfect circle by hand, but by imagining a perfect circle, we can get much closer than if we were imagining an oval or a square.
As Christians, this world is not our home. Our ultimate allegiance is to the Kingdom of God, not the United States. But by keeping in mind the “patriot’s dream” we can make America truly more beautiful. We can form, not a perfect union, but a more perfect union, as we await the coming of Jesus.
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