Ephesians 2:19
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners,
but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Last Sunday we looked at this Scripture text in our study of the book of Ephesians in God’s Word. For believers in Jesus Christ, we have dual citizenship. Many missionaries have dual citizenship of nations here on earth, some here may even possess citizenship in more than one earthly country. But for every true believer in Jesus Christ as Saviour our eternal citizenship is in Heaven even though we live physically as citizens of this land. As citizens we have effect and influence on each other. As citizens we have rights, but with those rights come responsibilities. If we fail to fulfill our responsibilities, we can hinder our rights. As citizens we are representatives to others of our nation. In some countries around the world bad American citizens have given our nation a bad reputation and when others from our nation travel there we are characterized by their reputation even though we may not be guilty. As citizens of Heaven, every Christian is a representative of God’s family as well and unfortunately some are giving the wrong impression of what citizens of Heaven truly are to be. In our nation, we need some patriots who will be good representatives of what America truly is and what our founding fathers and the pilgrims intended it to be in this world. Patriotism is more about responsibilities than about rights. Patriotism is more about duty than it is pleasure. Patriotism is more about sacrifice than it is about gain. Patriotism is more about honor than it is about recognition. There are a lot of American citizens that are drawing a lot of attention to themselves, but not being patriots for the good of our nation. There are a lot of people coming after the hearts and minds of our children to reshape America into something it has never been and was never intended to become and we need true patriots to speak up with truth and grace against the evil influences trying to destroy our nation. However, the same is true of our Heavenly citizenship. God has called us to be patriots of His kingdom as well. And spiritual patriotism also involves responsibilities, duty, sacrifice, honor, and speaking up for the truth of what it means to be a child of God and citizen of Heaven. How are you managing your citizenship?