Citizens of a particular nation are distinguished by either their lifestyle, language, culture, food or by all of the above-mentioned. I might have lived in different countries but I can only claim citizenship in the one that I originally lived in or the one that has given me citizenship. In some countries citizenship is by birth but in other countries, being born there doesn’t guarantee a citizenship right. When we come to Christ, we don’t cease to be citizens of our individual countries but we gain a much higher citizenship. This citizenship is not associated with any earthly country but to a divine country. As members of a divine country, our way of life reflects where we come from and where we will ultimately spend eternity. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, (Philippians 3:20) Paul told the Philippian church that, “but our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body (Philippians 3:20-21). There are two systems governing the world. The system of God which is light and the system of the devil which is darkness. As believers, we are members of God’s government and that should reflect in our way of life on earth. In this system of light, we are in a “passing through” stage as we eagerly await the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ who will ultimately transform our earthly bodies to be like His glorious body. Having the knowledge that we are eternal citizens of heaven affects everything we do on earth. We demonstrate the attitude of questioning everything we do to know if it pleases the Lord. We subconsciously live our lives obeying the laws of our earthly home but focused on obeying our Lord in the long run. Citizens of heaven are not lawless citizens on earth. In fact Paul reminds us to obey people in authority and even pray for them. If the laws of your earthly country do not reflect the laws of heaven, the best way to get heaven on earth will be to pray “let Your kingdom come and let Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Remember, we can only reflect our eternal citizenship if we learn to know the laws that govern the kingdom of heaven. As a child, one popular Sunday school song kept me on my toes… “Read your Bible Pray everyday if you want to grow” Growing in the kingdom of heaven demands a concentrated effort and this includes a personal relationship with the Lord and a planned effort to know Him more. Know that citizens of heaven strive each day to be like Christ.
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