And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. (Hebrews 11:9 NLT)
Among the endless parade of articles you can find online are variations of the “fish out of water” theme: “20 Ways to Spot an American in a Foreign Country”; “10 Eye-Opening Things I Learned When I Moved to Portugal”; “5 Surprising Differences Between Living in New Zealand and Living in Australia”; and so on. The idea behind them is that our citizenship marks us in certain ways, that citizens from a country have certain similarities.
In Philippians 3:20, Paul says Christians “are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives” (NLT). In Hebrews 11:9–10, the author says that, as citizens of Heaven, one of the things we have in common is a foreigner status in this world.
God calls His people to walk a thin line. We’re to influence the world without being influenced by it. To care about the things happening around us without being consumed by them. To make a home here without getting too comfortable in it or too possessive about it. To take care of our daily responsibilities while keeping our focus on things above. To be salt and light in this world without getting caught up in power plays, territorial spats, and political machinations. To care enough about the people in this life to make sure that they join us in the next.
Don’t think for a second that Christians have no place here. Or that our contributions as foreigners are minimal at best. Imagine how our world would be if there were no believers standing up for what’s right or speaking out against what’s wrong. God’s people are the restraining force. Once we’re removed, once the church is taken out of the equation, caught up to meet the Lord in the air at the Rapture, all hell will literally break loose.
Until that time, however, we will make our presence felt. And we will remember that our citizenship is in Heaven—and that what awaits us there is beyond compare.
Paul wrote, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT). As you get older, the promise of eternal life becomes more and more appealing.
When I first became a Christian, what interested me as a seventeen-year-old kid was that I could fill a hole in my heart, that I could find meaning and purpose in my life. But now, as a seventy-two-year-old kid, I rejoice in the fact that when I leave this world, I’ll enter God’s kingdom. I’ll go to Heaven, where my citizenship is.
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