I know. No one cares whether or not I’m a citizen of Canada and that I have been all my life without knowing it. The point I was making in my last post1 – a point I thought was perfectly clear – was that it is possible for anyone to be a citizen of another country their entire life without knowing it – or at least without taking advantage of it – and that this is in fact true for many of us. For example, none of my siblings and cousins on my mother’s side knew they are Canadian citizens until I wrote about it.
The fact of the matter is, this possibility of unknown citizenship and the unknown and/or the unused privileges that go with it is a reality for many Christians. We are all citizens of another country, citizens of heaven. And just as my Canadian citizenship exists simply because I’m my Canadian mother’s child, so we believers are citizens of heaven because we are children of heaven’s king through faith in his son, Jesus Christ.
I did absolutely nothing to earn my Canadian citizenship. And yet, if I did not have a family, I could easily move to Canada at will and put down roots anywhere on Canadian soil. I could vote, pay taxes and run for political office. Under Canada’s constitution, I have all the rights that any other Canadian citizen has. All of this simply because I am Marguerite Lillian Reese’s son.
In the same way, I have done absolutely nothing to earn my heavenly citizenship. Someday, I will “move” to heaven and put down roots there. I will be welcomed into the presence of saints, angels, Jesus, and God the Father. I will live forever in infinite beauty, creativity and joy. I will know nothing of evil and pain and suffering. I have all of the rights that any other citizen of heaven has. All of this simply because I am God the Father’s son.
And though I still live on this earth, my awareness of my true citizenship governs everything I do.
Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:19-20 (NIV)
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
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