I am sure we have probably sung the national anthem for decades but how often do we pause to think whom our god is when we come to the part? I believe most of the national anthem around the world somehow has god in it.
The US National Anthem
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust”;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
The British even has God in the title as in “God save the Queen”
God save our gracious Queen!
Long live our noble Queen!
God save the Queen!
The Negaraku, Malaysia national anthem
Raja kita, selamat bertakhta.
Rahmat bahagia, Tuhan kurniakan,
Raja kita, selamat bertakhta.or a translation (from Wiki)
With God-given blessings of happiness,
Our King reigns in peace.
With God-given blessings of happiness,
Our King reigns in peace.
I admit, I can sing the national anthem with no problems but I never give much thought to the deep meaning there. Well, not until these few years when I sung it in church.
Yesterday evening, my church, The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit launched the Merdeka’s month long celebration. When the servers and the priest approach the altar with the Malaysian flags waving triumphantly , I felt a certain guilt to it. Have I been upholding the good name of the country? Have I been blinded by the filth of politics and failed to see the beauty of this God-given land? Have I acknowledge and thank God for the peaceful country which provides me abundant foods, shelter and more blessings?
We then sang the Negaraku and when it comes to the part of Tuhan, I see God as that Almighty force that keeps us as one nation. In our multi-religion country, we should be thankful that we still manage to live peacefully. There are no bloodsheds nor fighting. So, let’s not try to separate your God from my God.
Let’s just praise God that we still stick together as one nation eventhough our races and religions are so different. Praise God for the peaceful nation. Trust God to deal with the shortcomings and leave it to God to guide us. Amen.
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