Dual Citizenship

Thankfully, I am a citizen of the United States of America. How about you? Our country has its share of problems, but for the most part, it’s a great place to live. You may have been born in a different country or live in another place now. That means you get to see first hand the contrast between this land and others.

Jesus experienced that kind of contrast when He came to earth. He who had been the Lord of the greatest kingdom of all, Heaven, became a lowly commoner, born in the country of Israel. It had once been free from tyranny, but was then under the thumb of the Roman Empire. Why did the Holy Father choose that place and that time? We may not be able to answer that question, but we can have confidence that God’s choice was right. “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law” (Galatians 4:4, NLT). In coming, Jesus became a dual citizen, so to speak.

Because Jesus came, because He took the punishment for our sin by shedding His blood on a cross (the Roman means of capital punishment), we who humbly receive Him as our Savior, can become children of God and citizens of Heaven. Wow! That’s a loaded sentence. Think about it. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12, NKJV).

“Praise be to God for giving us through Christ every possible spiritual benefit as citizens of Heaven! For consider what he has done—before the foundation of the world he chose us to become, in Christ, his holy and blameless children living within his constant care. He planned, in his purpose of love, that we should be adopted as his own children through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:3-5, J. B. Phillips). 

Now God has made it possible for us to become dual citizens – of earth and heaven. “We are citizens of Heaven; our outlook goes beyond this world to the hopeful expectation of the saviour who will come from Heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phillipians 3:20, J. B. Phillips). So which citizenship is most important? Obviously, the heavenly one, since it is permanent, not temporary. So how should we live in the light of this fact? Out of gratitude to God, we live like children of God, which means we live like Jesus did when He was here on earth. That’s a tall order, but the Spirit enables us.

The apostle Peter assured us with these words: “His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” (II Peter 1:3, AMP). Aren’t you thankful for the privilege of being a dual citizen?