Blood

This country was written in blood.  A disenchanted and idealistic cadre of patriots banded together to rebel against the Motherland. They signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well capture by the King would result in death by hanging.  Not bloody, but certainly final.

The Kingdom of God was also written in blood.

Beginning with the precedent of animal sacrifice as a means for remission of sins, and continuing with bloody and painful male circumcision as a rite of "otherness" that separated the "real" Jews from the "pretenders," blood was the currency for substitution and identity.

It's no surprise that the purest and most powerful substance in the universe is the precious blood of the Son of God.  He who knew no sin became sin for us.  

THERE IS ONE GATEWAY TO GOD.

He took the form of a man, with atria, ventricles and arteries, a perfectly-functioning body that would one day be riddled with fatal damage imposed by the brutal Roman custom of crucifixion.

As the sons and daughters of the original American patriots continued to shed blood far past the days of the Revolution, so the Kingdom of God advanced beyond the Resurrection.

For either kingdom, victory doesn't come cheap, does it? 

What allegiance does the believer owe to this nation-state, the land of the free and the home of the brave?  I wish I knew for sure.    

But I do know what allegiance the believer owes the cross.

EVERYTHING.