“But our citizenship is in heaven…” 

Well, one could not pass on such a passage during the week we celebrated our nation’s independence.  Citizenship ought properly to have been on our minds this week.  It should always be our goal as believers of the Lord Jesus Christ to be the best citizens we can be – exemplary, in fact.  We ought to be civic-minded, honest, charitable, industrious, and inquisitive of and tolerant of others without compromising our convictions as Christians.  We ought to be the sort of people every elected official dreams of governing.  

But we can’t ignore the fact we all have “dual citizenship” – we are children of heaven whilst dwellers on earth.  But even that is not giving Paul’s phrase in Philippians 3:20 its due.  Paul often appealed to his Roman citizenship when he was in a bind. He used it to escape prison sentences and beatings quite often in provinces governed by Rome.  Paul was extremely proud of his Jewish heritage. He loved the nation of Israel even as he was one of its fiercest critics.  Paul knew that citizenship conveyed privileges, even as it demanded loyalty.

Paul fit the mold of someone who had dual citizenship –yet he urges Christians to remember our primary citizenship is in heaven. That surpasses every other identification we can claim.  I dare say there are Christians in every nation of the world - I doubt there is a country on earth that is not home to at least some of Jesus’ followers.  If Paul is correct, each of those believers, ourselves included, are primarily connected to each other in a profound and ultimately lasting way.   Ephesians 2:19 refers to Christians as “fellow citizens and members of the same household.”  The Christian church has no flag or national symbols, yet in a real sense, the Christian church counts every flag on earth its own, since we are counted among the citizens of every nation.  

The church is a “united nation” even if our aims, behavior and goals are often quite different from the nations of the world.  It would seem almost incomprehensible to us that nations that behave poorly (often primarily - if not exclusively - through their leaders) could still be considered Christian. But in potential, if not apparent, reality that is what they all are – even ours.  

So, when we pledge our allegiance to the flag of the United States of America; sing one of our national anthems; ask for liberty and justice for all; or sing of “crowning our good with brotherhood”, we are asking for things which Christians ought to seek for themselves and long for all to enjoy. All as citizens of heaven as a matter of first importance.     

On this independence week, let your thoughts and prayers be directed to such for all our fellow citizens - all who await a Savior and live as members of the household of God in which we were created in Christ Jesus to be.

Because of a cross,

Pastor Ken

If I am to have no other God, then I must surely possess the only true God with my heart, that is, I must in my heart be affectionate to him, evermore cleave to him, depend upon him, trust him, have my desire, love and joy in him, and always think of him.