Dual Citizenship
It’s election day in the United States, a day that has loomed large on our national consciousness for months. We have stewed over it, argued over it, fought for it, and dreaded it. Indeed, this has been the most vitriolic election our nation has seen in years.
I’ve never believed the hype that tends to come every four years from people on the right and the left who declare each subsequent election to be “the most important election in our lifetime.” But as I survey the landscape from my vantage point, I’m inclined to believe this one just might be one of the ugliest.
Like many of you, I find these days to be quite unsettling and not a little discouraging. I half-jokingly told Gwen that I was going to mark a write-in ballot for Jesus for president since He’s the only one I truly trust.
Primary Loyalties
Maybe I wasn’t too far off base. As a Christian, I essentially carry two passports. One states that I am a citizen of the United States of America. The other declares that I am a citizen of Heaven. Philippians 3:20 clearly states that “our citizenship is in heaven.”
I take real comfort in those words. They remind me that though I may be a resident of an earthly country, I am a citizen of a heavenly kingdom. In a very real way, I am an alien here. No matter who wins this election, my primary loyalty is to the King of kings.
Though I may be a resident of an earthly country, I am a citizen of a heavenly kingdom. No matter who wins this election, my primary loyalty is to the King of kings.
Moreover, I take hope in the fact that Jesus is still Lord. He is still building His Kingdom. And one day, Jesus will sit on the throne of both Heaven and Earth forever! This certainly helps me to right-size both my hopes and fears for the future of this country.
When I start to despair about the state of our world, it helps me to remind myself that believers in the 1st century lived under the absolute worst of governments. The Roman emperors such as Nero were not only non-Christian, they were anti-Christian! Disciples of Jesus weren’t simply marginalized, they were martyred! Yet, as the Good News was spread far and wide, it took root and Christianity flourished.
Ambassadors
So how should we live during these trying times? One way is to do so with a mindset of being ambassadors living in a foreign land. As ambassadors for Christ, we are to represent our King and the policies of His Kingdom in the country where we are residents. We need to be careful to prioritize our heavenly citizenship over our earthly citizenship.
How should we live during these trying times? One way is to do so with a mindset of being ambassadors living in a foreign land… representing our King and the policies of His Kingdom in the country where we are residents.
However, that doesn’t mean that we are to hunker down in fear behind the walls of our “embassy.” When Jesus said that the gates of Hell wouldn’t prevail against the Church, He didn’t intend for that to be seen as His people being on the defensive, but the offensive.
When Jesus said that the gates of Hell wouldn’t prevail against the Church, He didn’t intend for that to be seen as His people being on the defensive, but the offensive.
Indeed, when one reads of life in the trying days of the 1st century, that’s exactly what happened. It was the Christians who not only shared the gospel but showed the gospel. It was the Christians who fed the hungry, clothed the naked, housed the widows and orphans, and tended the sick.
Tomorrow we will have a new president-elect. Scripture mandates that I pray for that person whether I like them or not. And I will – just as I’m sure, the early believers prayed for the godless Romans.
And I hope that my prayers will result in wise decisions being made by that new president. After all, I’m still a resident of this country. But well beyond that, I am a citizen of heaven. And as an ambassador of that kingdom, I will seek to represent it well. Because that’s a passport I will carry forever.
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