My kids hold two passports—one from the country where we live and one from the country of my birth. They’re citizens of the United Kingdom and of the United States, but my husband and I remind them that their primary citizenship is of heaven.
The Apostle Paul spoke of this citizenship in his letter to the church at Philippi, which was made up of many Roman citizens who had settled in a Roman colony. Writing to those entitled to the benefits and privileges of the ruling power, he called them to a higher allegiance. He desired that they’d bring the practices of their heavenly citizenship to their earthly existence, that they’d not be ruled by their appetites or desires. Instead, he wanted them to reveal themselves as people transformed by their life in Christ.
Being citizens of heaven sets apart those who believe in Christ. My husband and I explained this to our kids when they wondered why we engage in nightly prayers or go to church regularly. As parents we desire that our children give their hearts fully to God, and that their heavenly passport will be their defining one.
Our longings for the Kingdom of God might make us feel like we don’t fully belong at times. We can ask God to help us live with grace through these feelings of disconnect while spreading His love and truth.
By Amy Boucher Pye
REFLECT & PRAY
Where do you place your allegiances? To a particular sports team? As a foodie? To the books you read? How does your heavenly citizenship trump all other ties?
God of all the nations, help me to submit to Your lordship in every area of my life. I want to serve You fully and with a singleness of heart.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Paul lived such an exemplary life that he asked the Philippian believers to imitate him—to use him as a model of living the life of a believer in Jesus (Philippians 3:17; see 1 Corinthians 4:16). They were to follow Paul’s mindset and actions. He dared to ask believers to follow his example because he himself had “[followed] the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Paul’s mindset and actions were that of Jesus’—self-denial, unquestioned obedience, and humble service ( Philippians 2:5–11). They were to imitate Paul in his relentless pursuit of Christ and Christlikeness (3:7–14). In fact, the Philippian believers were encouraged not only to imitate Paul, but to imitate any believer whose life was undeniably modelled upon Christ’s (3:17). On the other hand, Paul warns of following the wrong models—those who profess faith but “live as enemies of the cross of Christ”; those who live a worldly and immoral life ( vv. 18–19).
K. T. Sim
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