like the difference between the person who traded with two talents and
the person who traded with ten (Matthew 25 : 14 – 30 ). It is like the differ-
ence between the value of a shekel and the value of a talent. It is like the
difference between the product of a grapevine and that of a whole vine-
yard, the product of an olive tree and that of an olive plantation, the
product of a single tree and that of a whole fruit garden. Love for our
neighbor also rises higher and higher within us, and as it rises, we love
our community more than we love an individual and we love our coun-
try more than we love our community.
Now, because goodwill consists of wanting what is best for others
and being of benefit to them, it follows that it is to be practiced in very
similar ways toward a community as toward an individual person. We are
to treat a community of good people differently than we treat a commu-
nity of evil people. With the latter group, goodwill is to be practiced
according to earthly impartiality; toward the former group, according to
spiritual impartiality. But I will say more on these two kinds of impartial-
ity elsewhere.414 Our country is our neighbor more than our community is, because
our country consists of many communities. Love for our country is
therefore broader and higher. Loving our country is also loving the well-
being of the general public.
Our country is our neighbor because it is like a parent. We were born
in it. It has nourished us and continues to nourish us. It has kept us safe
from harm and continues to do so.
We are to do good to our country with love according to what it needs.
Some of its needs are earthly and some are spiritual. Its earthly needs cen-
ter on its civic life and order. Its spiritual needs center on its spiritual life
and order.
We are to love our country not merely as much as we love ourselves;
we are to love it more. There is a law written on the human heart that
gives rise to the statement all just people say when they are in imminent
danger of dying because of an enemy or some other cause. They say that
it is a noble thing to die for their country. They say that it is a glorious
thing for soldiers to shed their blood for their country. They say this
because that is how much one ought to love one’s country.
It is important to know that if people love their country and benefit
it because they wish it well, they love the Lord’s kingdom after death.
The Lord’s kingdom is their country at that point. And those who love