Our Citizenship

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.” 

~ Philippians 3:20-4:1

These verses are a great comfort and reminder to those who follow Jesus as we see the world around us and our government crumbling. Jesus promised that in the last times things in this world would get worse:  “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” ~ II Timothy 3:12+13 The things we see around us should not be a surprise in light of this verse!

So what should our response be?

First of all, we should stand firm in the Lord, as it says in the verse above from Philippians. How do we “stand firm in the Lord”? My mind first goes to these verses: “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore . . .” ~ Ephesians 6:13+14a This passage then goes on to outline the putting on of the armor of God.

Another thing that we should do in response to what is happening around us is to respect and obey our authorities. It is sad that so many who call themselves followers of Jesus do not obey Him in this area and think that it is okay to disrespect and disregard the rulers that God has ordained. Following are three verses to consider: “. . . for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’” ~ Acts 23:5b, “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. . .Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.” ~ Romans 13:1, 2+7, and “Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.” ~ I Peter 2:17

It is true that sometimes we will need to disobey the earthly government in order to obey God as the apostles experienced: “We must obey God rather than men.” ~ Acts 5:29b. However, many people use this as the rule rather than the exception. And when man’s law does conflict with God’s, we can still respect our earthly authorities, even while we expose the sin.

Finally, we should rejoice! Jesus’ words are coming true, and along with it, His promises for those who follow Him. Our citizenship is in heaven, not here on this earth. We are pilgrims and strangers here. Aren’t you thankful that this is not our home?