Edelweiss - Faithful to My Homeland

"The Sound of Music" is a classic movie, set in Austria, based on a true story about a family of singers, the Von Trapps, and their escape from Nazi occupation during World War II. I grew up watching that movie as a child. In the movie, Rogers and Hammerstein wrote a short lullaby song entitled “Edelweiss,” which is a song about a flower. The word “edelweiss” means “noble white” in German. In the movie, this song would remind Captain Baron Von Trapp of his beloved Austria. Here are the lyrics:
 
Edelweiss, edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white, clean and bright
You look happy to meet me
 
Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever
 
This flower is native to Austria, but it's also native to Switzerland and different white cap mountains in that area. It's a beautiful white flower that is so pristine, so pure, and so white that it blends in with the snow on top of the mountain, but you've got to go up there to get the flowers. It's so beautiful, so white, that if you pluck that flower and put it into a book to press and hold onto for years and years and years, you'll open it and the whiteness of that flower will remain white and pure.
 
The Nazi occupation began to take over Austria, and here was this Austrian military leader who was then told, "You're going to have to fight for the Nazis." He had fought for his homeland, but he refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II.
 
In the movie, the Von Trapp family singers, sing this final song about this flower, and Captain Von Trapp said that he wanted the audience to remember their homeland forever. It was a song that was intentionally designed to say that the whiteness of the flower should remind you of your homeland.
 
But it also had a double meaning that the whiteness of this flower, which blends into the snow, is so beautiful, so white, so pure, that it can grow in the harshest of winters. It's a year-round flower. No matter what kind of winter you're in, the flower will grow. His intended message in singing this song about a flower was that you can remain Austrian even in the midst of Nazi oppression. His statement in that one song was to say, "Remain loyal to Austria." It was a hidden song intentionally designed to remind them of their real homeland.
 
As Christians living in this world, we should think of ourselves as that pure, white flower, also able to grow in the harshest of winters. Just as that pure white flower blends in with the white snow above, so too, we blend into the whiteness of God Himself above us. Additionally, if that flower is plucked and brought down to mud, rock and grass – it will stand out. You can press that flower into the pages of a book and even after years pass, its whiteness is still radiant. Just as the pure whiteness of that flower stands in contrast to the darkness surrounding it, so too, our purity and holiness should stand out in contrast to the dark world around us. You're still white, pure, and pristine.
 
1 Peter 1:15–16 (NKJV) – “15but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”
 
You and I are to be holy as God is holy. You and I should never be surprised when we have different desires, tastes, ideas, and philosophies that go in the opposite direction of the world around us. Remember, your citizenship is in heaven. You are a Christian who lives in America. You're not an American who's also a Christian. You're a Christian first. Your allegiance is to the Lord Jesus Christ, and secondarily to whatever culture you're living in.
 
Peter was trying to remind those first century believers, "You're in a Roman colony. That Roman colony is in the midst of Asia Minor and it has its values, it has its ideas and its ideals, but yet you are a Christian who's living in that Roman colony. Today, we are the church. We are believers. We are Christ-followers in the midst of a civilization that is growing more and more hostile to our Christian conviction.”
 
“Dear God, I pray that I would allow Your Holy Spirit to lead me to reflect Jesus in a greater way. I pray that I would live a holy life in this world. I pray that I would remain faithful to You, no matter where I live, work or play. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”