Citizenship

Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

If you are at all like me, these recent weeks have been somewhat difficult. Our political climate is more like a Tsunami or Cat 5 Hurricane than a civil society exercising its constitutional duty and privilege. I wonder if we will ever get back to some sense of civility?

I doubt it! The various actors on the stage in our country, the media and the political figures themselves, gain from the chaos. Their power increases. Just take a look at the COVID 19 restrictions. They have taken our hard fought liberties without a fight. Our hands are in the air!

But wait a minute! As believers aren’t we just temporary residents in this world? Isn’t this just a camping trip and we are living in tents? Don’t we have a place prepared for us?

But it can be very difficult to keep this fact in mind. We are citizens of another realm. It is a tax free realm. All the fees have already been paid. And when we arrive the King will greet us personally.

I think the reason we have difficulty remembering this fact is that we are not eagerly waiting for Jesus to return. We have become complacent, comfortable in our communities and lifestyle. Our needs are basically met, so we don’t have to cry out from a position of need.

So we get distracted by the temporary upheaval in our society, forgetting that our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world have been living a very different faith than us. They have lived a faith from the position of need. Everyday for them is a walk of faith. Will there been enough food for the family? Will we be arrested and killed? Will I be thrown in prison or beaten today?

From that position it is probably much easier to keep your eyes on our heavenly citizenship. The earthly offers nothing to which the eye would be attracted. But remembering that Jesus is returning and will deliver and transform us would be fuel to make it through the next day.

Perhaps everything that we hold dear of this life needs to be removed so that the glories of the next life come into better focus for us. If we turn into communist China or the USSR, honoring the teaching of Marx on Socialism, then this world really would loose its appeal.

So what is in your gaze today?