Country of Origin

A lot is said about the country of origin. Products and produce are so labeled. People have flags and other signs to show where they came from. A person’s home nation is often clear by the way they act and how they talk. Citizenship is a hot topic; many making demands about what should be required to become a citizen, etc. Some think that a person should adopt the language and “culture” of their new country. We have ambassadors who travel to other countries in an attempt to improve and maintain relationships between countries. All this talk made me think, what does the Bible say about our citizenship?

Philippians 3:20 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ

Because we have believed in Christ, accepted His sacrifice, He has become our Lord and Savior. He is our King so we have citizenship in His country, as it were, which is heaven. We are not longer citizens of the world. We are aliens, foreigners, sojourners as Abraham was, and the children of Israel. Our existence on earth is not one of belonging, but one of waiting to one day finally go home to our true country. Should this affect the way we act here on earth?

1 Peter 2:11-12 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

“Gentiles” refers to those who do not believe, those whose citizenship is here on earth. While we live in their country and walk among them, we need to live according to our citizenship not our surroundings. They need to know where we belong, to Whom we give our allegiance. They need to see that there is a difference.

Note: this does not give us an excuse to live as we please and deny the laws and authority of this land because disobedience, rebellion, and disrespect are contrary to God, by doing that we would be denying our citizenship in heaven. Our goal should be to glorify God in everything we do so that others will glorify God when they meet us.

2 Corinthians 5:20 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

We are representatives for God here on earth, and the world will view God based on us. William Toms said, “Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some person ever reads.” What do others know about God based on your life?

Our citizenship in heaven should change how we live. As I said last week in my article about heart, that is the core of our faith. How we live is based on what is inside us. It doesn’t matter how we act on the outside if we are rotten on the inside. The fact that we belong to heaven should not only have an influence on our lifestyles, but be the basis for our lifestyles.

In the book Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis, there was a duel between the usurping King Miraz and Peter, the High King of Narnia. When Miraz fell, Peter stepped back to allow him time to stand, rather than take advantage of the situation and finish Miraz while he had the chance. Edmund, Peter’s brother, said, “Oh bother…need he be as gentlemanly as that? I suppose he must. Comes of being a Knight and a High King. I suppose it is what Aslan would like.” Rather than act in the way that would benefit him the most, and seemed to be the wise decision, Peter acted in a way that was dictated by his position and his devotion to Aslan (a figure of Christ in these stories).

We are children of the King of Kings. We should be as Peter, our every action should show our position in the Kingdom of God. I have heard some say that we should not be so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good, but that is a fallacy. As Mark Buchanan said in Spiritual Rhythms, “We should be so heavenly minded that we are of great earthly good.” A.W. Tozer once said, “The world has enough of the world, they need to see Jesus.”

Colossians 3:1-3 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Every aspect of our lives is dependant on Christ, Who He is, what He has done, and where we are going. Because we belong to Him, and will one day join Him in heaven, we need to live in a way that reflects that. We need to seek that which we will gain. To put it another way, we will gain what we seek. If we seek the world we will only gain the world. Growth in godliness is a prerequisite for being an ambassador for Christ, and we are all called to be ambassadors. Our actions prove our belief and citizenship.

Based on your actions, where is your citizenship?