“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20 NIV)
Christ followers have dual citizenship. We are citizens of an earthly country and citizens of heaven. The question is, which citizenship ultimately rules our hearts?
What is your reaction when your presidential candidate of choice doesn’t win the election? Do you bemoan the state of the country and badmouth the winner or do you pray (1Tim. 2:1-3)? Do you become fearful and anxious concerning the future or do you let the peace of Christ rule your heart (Col 3:15)?
I’m not saying we should take our earthly citizenship lightly. We should vote and make our voices known. Christians should run for political office. We should promote policies that we feel are in keeping with biblical values. However, we should also remember that, no matter what happens in elections and world politics, our primary citizenship is in heaven. Our hope and future is not dependent on elected officials but is in the faithful hands of a sovereign Savior whose return we await.
Until He returns, the unchanging policies of heaven should govern our attitudes and actions (Col. 3:1-4) and not the ever-changing political climate of worldly governments. If, over the last two hundred years, the majority of people who claimed to be Christians had actually acted like citizens of heaven first, would we even have the issues that now divide our country? I can’t help but wonder. What if we start living that way now? How might it change the political and social climates for the future? We can do more than but wonder.
