The Barefoot Evangelist

Today is Canada Day. Like many Canadians, I’ll enjoy the beauty of this country – the lakes and forests, the communities where neighbours still help one another, and the incredible diversity of people who now call this land home. I am grateful to live in Canada. Gratitude is a good thing. In fact, gratitude is one of the ways we worship God. But gratitude and honesty have never been enemies.

Loving our country doesn’t mean pretending we have always lived up to our ideals. The painful legacy of residential schools and the treatment of Indigenous peoples continues to call us toward truth, repentance, and reconciliation. Less than a century ago, Canada also turned away desperate Jewish refugees under the shameful attitude remembered by the words, “None Is Too Many.” As antisemitism rises once again around the world, those chapters of our history remind us that prejudice is never someone else’s problem. We honour the past not by hiding it, but by learning from it.

Jesus never asked His followers to believe their nation was perfect. He asked us to love our neighbours. Sometimes that love means celebrating what is good. Sometimes it means standing beside those who have been wounded. Sometimes it means having the courage to say, “We can do better.” Christians should be among the first people willing to hold gratitude and repentance in the same hands, because we worship a God who is both full of grace and deeply committed to truth.

So today, wave the flag if you wish. Enjoy the fireworks. Share a meal with family or friends. Give thanks for this beautiful country. But also pray that Canada will become more just, more compassionate, and more welcoming with each passing year. That’s the kind of patriotism I believe Jesus would recognize – not pretending our home is perfect, but loving it enough to help it grow.