20 Our citizenship is in heaven. We look forward to a savior that comes from there—the Lord Jesus Christ.
Reflection
As humans we love to identify with a group, and then engage in an us-them mentality. Take sports teams, as diehard fans we set aside time to watch games, and root for our team, wearing our team sports apparel. We love to do genealogical research to find out about our ancestors and where they lived, their language and their cultural traditions. But a large part of our identity and sense of belonging comes from being a citizen of a nation. If we say we’re an American citizen, it brings with it a certain identity and place in the world, both good and bad. Citizenship is transactional, it comes with specific rights, privileges and responsibilities that are exclusive to a select group. This type of belonging informs our identity about who we are and where we belong in the world. Or does it?
So many of us feel lost or desperately lonely with no sense we belong in this world or the next. Yet, as beloved children of God, we have dual citizenship. We live physically in this world, and yet we don’t belong to the world, we belong to God’s family. We are saved by God’s love and grace. Our identity as the redeemed through Christ tells us whose we are, that we now belong to the family of God. We are citizens of heaven, the Kin-dom of God, that is both now and
becoming, where the rules of the world don’t apply. We now live a life that is not transactional, but is relational, to God and our neighbor. By God’s grace, we live a life of loving service where hearts and minds are transformed by God’s grace, where love heals brokenness, justice ends suffering and compassion is the way we follow.
by Jeneene Reduker
For Pondering and Prayer
As Citizens of the Kin-dom of God we act with compassion and see the world through the compassionate eyes of Jesus. Jesus understands the difficulties we face living in both the world and as citizens of Heaven. That’s why he taught us to pray daily, “thy Kingdom come,” to renew our vision, while we wait and follow Jesus. We wait in hope for God’s Kin-dom to be fully realized, where all are welcomed as citizens of heaven, to love and serve others until our
Savior Jesus returns.
What challenges do you face living as a citizen of the world and a citizen of heaven?
Prayer: Holy and Loving God, we pray “your Kingdom come.” Renew our vision and help us to love others as we wait for our Savior Jesus. Amen.