LIVING AS CITIZENS OF HEAVEN

Recently, my parents moved back to India from Oman, bringing an end to 26 years of living in the Gulf. It was a tough choice to make, but we trusted in the leading of God. This involved months of preparation and any person who has migrated to a new place will agree with me that it requires a lot of planning in terms of finances, clothing, food etc., and sacrifices to make that transition. And throughout the last 26 years, we were constantly reminded of one reality that ‘Oman is not our home country but India is our home country and we may be asked to leave this country at any point depending on visa availabilities of the employer.’ We were constantly aware during our stay in Oman that we don’t permanently belong there however we may try to fit into it. So my parents made it a point and sacrificed a lot of time and effort to make mine and my sister’s transition into India smooth as possible when both of us moved to India earlier in 2008 and 2009. As a family, all our choices and decisions were all made with the perspective that we are temporary in this city. With this in mind, our parents also invested much of their earnings to build a house in India for our family because we knew that we needed a place of permanent abode during our stay on earth and now as they returned back to India, it turned out to be a bigger blessing.

Well through all these, I was wondering if we prepare, invest and sacrifice so much for our spatial transitions here on earth, then how much more we need to do for our eternal transition! We all know that we aren’t going to be here on earth permanently and a time would come when we have to return to our eternal abode in heaven, but how much do we really invest into it? How much our choices or decisions are made with a heavenly perspective?

Heaven is often like a far-away reality to many of us and we hardly even have time to think about it in our daily busy schedules. As christians, we all state that we look forward to being in heaven and to be with God eternally, but the question is how many of us are already aware that we are citizens of heaven? And how much of that fact really sinks into our daily life? We read in Philippians 3: 18, 19, 20 “ For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” 

The book of Philippians was written by Paul while he was in prison. His execution was very close at hand, yet he was hoping somehow to visit the Philippians again and to encourage them in Christ and Paul explains that he was imprisoned for preaching the gospel of Christ. Often soldiers battling the uncertainties of war, write letters of thanks and advice, encouraging their loved ones to carry on bravely, and to live in ways that will bring them honor. Well, in many ways, Paul’s epistle to the Philippians is like a letter to home from a soldier being aware of the probability that he may soon die. Throughout his long ministry, Paul often suffered greatly. He was repeatedly whipped, beaten with rods, and hunted by assassins. He was imprisoned many times, and once he was even stoned and left for dead. But throughout the chapters we see the joy and hope that Paul expresses through the book of Philippians despite all the tensions and worries of his life. The book of Philippians also beautifully resonates with tones of joy! Counting your days to death is not an easy task and its unimaginable for all of us, but even then we see that Paul’s eyes are fixed above!! And he is focusing on heavenly matters and isn’t worrying or complaining about his state of affairs.

Even though events of the world may be confusing and terrifying, we can be aware of one fact that our citizenship is in heaven! Our permanent residence, our community, our ruler, and our rights, privileges and responsibilities, are all in heaven. And in verse 19, Paul contrasts this with those whose minds are set on the earthly things. We mind the heavenly things. We know that in our earthly understanding, in order to become a citizen a person has to be born in that country or be physically present in that country for a certain amount of time as the country dictates in their rules. As we took a decision to accept Jesus Christ we are born again into the Kingdom of God and he has already given us rights to be His Children and heirs of His kingdom. We mind these things not just because we desire to go to heaven, but because we are already citizens of the Kingdom of God. In other words, although we have not yet fully been there, our desires and decisions are to be made with a heavenly perspective.

We need to note that Paul talks in present tense here in the passage. He doesn’t say, you will be a citizen but that your citizenship is in heaven. Throughout the ministry we see, Jesus proclaimed the arrival of the kingdom and we have access to kingdom powers and principles here on earth, yet the full fruition of the kingdom of God is yet to come. The kingdom of heaven is progressing through each of us! And Paul in this portion is stressing on the fact that God does not intend for us to merely run the race with a hope of obtaining a heavenly kingdom but rather we should run the race from the position of already being kingdom citizens. We don’t only fight to obtain victory; we fight from a position of victory. We don’t only walk to obtain blessings, but are already blessed (blessed, happy, fortunate as the beatitudes state (Matt 5:3-12).

On the subject of kingdom of God, Jesus gives an interesting parable in Matthew 13:45-46, “45Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. ”. But the question today is, “ how much value do we give in life to the kingdom of God?” On being asked a simple question of what do we worry most about in life, most of our answers would be related to material blessings like job, finance, house, positions etc.  In Mathew 6: 21,  we read, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Though we are christians and though we claim to be children of God, in truth so often our heart isn’t really inclined towards the kingdom of God. Sadly, our hearts are often set on the earthly matters and that is a harsh truth.

In Colossians 3:1-3 we read, “ Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.“ God’s thoughts are higher than ours, and much too difficult to understand. We all desire to understand God completely, and sometimes, that can be a really hard task but He does want us to seek Him and, in that, He will reveal to us what we ask of Him according to His will for us.

In Luke 12: 3, the Bible states, “Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” Often the perspective of heaven often becomes a last priority as we pack too many stuff into our life. When we look around us, the people of this world are often gripped with a feeling of hopelessness, greed and are never satisfied with what they have and strive to gain more and more material possessions. Because they don’t have a perspective beyond earth, they try to invest everything they have into the life on earth. But we who are born again need to renew our minds and live a life worthy of our call. It’s time for us to bring our focus back to God and compare ourselves differently from the standards of the world. Especially during this period of COVID-19, its time for us to recall our identity in Christ and be a blessing to others. We need to remember that God is our source because He has always been and always meant to be our source. Even in the most difficult times, just like Paul can we make a decision to aware of our identity as citizens of God?

Let Heaven be a lifestyle in our life. In Romans 15:17 we read, “ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” And in the days to come, may the Holy Spirit stir our hearts to change our attitude to live our life as in the Kingdom of God! Let’s view our surroundings, workplaces and communities around us with fresher perspective of Heavenly citizens! We are truly heavenly citizens and let that be an evident truth of our lives! Let the peace and joy of Heaven fill our hearts and mind!