The 3 pledges every Christian child should remember
Our human memory is an extraordinary thing. Some notes of music, various aromas, an old picture or some random word or gesture can trigger the most extraordinary memories — memories we didn’t even know were there. As I get older, I find more and more memories coming back that I had long since forgotten had ever existed.
As a young boy growing up in Southern Baptist churches in Houston in the 1950s, I spent a lot of time with my friends and other neighborhood children in various evangelism programs for children and youth. I was reminded of some of those experiences recently as I came across my childhood Bible as I was going through a storage area.
In this Bible, in my instantly recognizable, left-handed cursive scrawl, are the words of three pledges I learned in those childhood Christian evangelism classes.
The first pledge was to the American flag:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
“Under God” means, for Christians, that America is under God, and our allegiance to Him and to His Kingdom takes precedence over country. Allegiance to Christ and His Kingdom comes first.
The Christian flag, which officially dates back to the early 20th century, has a white field with a red Latin cross inside a blue canton. The red symbolizes the blood sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The blue symbolizes the waters of baptism, and the white symbolizes Jesus’ purity.
As a boy growing up in Southern Baptist churches, we pledged allegiance to the Christian flag as well as to the American flag in Sunday School, and it was always explained to us that the Christian flag and pledge took precedence and were first. Here is how it goes:
I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag and to the Savior for whose Kingdom it stands, one Savior, crucified, risen, and coming again with life and liberty to all who believe.
We also pledged allegiance to the Bible, the pledge to which was inscribed in my handwriting on the last page of my Bible after “maps.” That pledge reads as follows: “I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s holy Word. I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path and will hide its words in my heart that I might not sin against God.”
I am so grateful to my parents and the other adults who put us in such a healthy and impactful environment.
I thank God for each and every one of them.
Dr. Richard Land, BA (Princeton, magna cum laude); D.Phil. (Oxford); Th.M (New Orleans Seminary). Dr. Land served as President of Southern Evangelical Seminary from July 2013 until July 2021. Upon his retirement, he was honored as President Emeritus and he continues to serve as an Adjunct Professor of Theology & Ethics. Dr. Land previously served as President of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (1988-2013) where he was also honored as President Emeritus upon his retirement. Dr. Land has also served as an Executive Editor and columnist for The Christian Post since 2011.
Dr. Land explores many timely and critical topics in his daily radio feature, “Bringing Every Thought Captive,” and in his weekly column for CP.
