“My First allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man. My first allegiance is not to democracy or blood. It’s to a king and a kingdom”- Derek Webb “A King and a Kingdom”

The other week as I was on vacation I was reading these words on the page of the book Jesus for President. My wife and I and our two kids were vacationing for a few days at Virginia Beach before heading to Richmond for the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference. As I sat on the balcony of our hotel room reading Shane Claiborne’s book (which is all about justice, peace, the empire, etc..) I heard a rumbling noise from the air. At least once every hour a military jet (or two or three) came flying overhead making a ton of noise.

I kept thinking, “How much money is being spent on these flights? How much does jet fuel cost? How much of my taxes are going to fund the machines of war?” I tell you what… it was a surreal experience to read about the kingdom of God and the desire that God has for his people to be people of peace and to hear the war jets flying overhead.