From God comes…
From God comes citizenship. I don’t know about you, but the older I get the more I appreciate that my citizenship is in heaven, not on earth. Recently I’ve been singing old hymns reminding me that this world is not my true home. If it were, there would not be much to live for.
The turmoil in the world projects nothing but gloom and doom. We have wars, famines, disasters, diseases, prejudices, greed, injustice, self-centeredness, hatred, and anger. The list is endless. Without God, there are no solutions to these overwhelming problems. There may be temporary “fixes” which unfortunately, usually result in a whole new set of difficult unforeseen issues that will need to be resolved.
Yet, in the midst of all the troubles surrounding us, we are called to be ambassadors to a hurting world (2 Corinthians 5:20). We cannot do this without keeping our focus on God and asking for His help.
When we surrender to Jesus, our citizenship moves from this world to heaven (Philippians 3:20). Our home is in heaven and all who know Christ will have the opportunity to eventually go home. We don’t know when that will be. It could be after a long illness or a sudden accident. But some sweet day God will lovingly beckon us home. Then we will leave the cares and troubles of this world behind.
Until then, we must be Christ’s ambassadors on earth. The definition of an ambassador is a diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country. Our citizenship is in heaven, so living on earth is comparable to us being an ambassador for Christ in a foreign country—a country we must live in, but not be a part of (John 17:14-17).
That doesn’t mean we retreat from this world altogether because we need to be the salt of the earth and a light in the world (Matthew 5:13-15). However, as ambassadors for Christ, we must guard against conforming to the patterns of this world (Romans 12:2). If not, we can get sucked into worldly philosophies that influence our values, attitudes, and behaviors which can negatively impact our relationship with Christ.
We are Christ’s representatives. Everything we do or say must reflect Christ. We must let the peace of God rule our hearts. Let Thanksgiving fill our thoughts. Let God’s wisdom dwell in us. Let encouragement, not condemnation come from our lips. Whatever we say or do needs to reflect Christ (Colossians 3:15-17).
This world can be a harsh place, but praise God, we are not citizens of this harsh place. We are citizens of a very forgiving place, a loving place, a place of amazing grace. That is our home—our true home.
“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God…”
~James 1:17 (NLT)
