Way back in the 1960’s, I was a citizen of El Paso, Texas.  A citizen of Mesita Elementary School.  A citizen of far west Texas and southern New Mexico.  A citizen of the United States.  I was a citizen of all of those places and my citizenship shaped, influenced, and affected everything about me from the inside out.  I was who I was and I did what I did all in response to my citizenship.  

That said, how each of us defines our primary citizenship impacts how we go through the joyous, horrible, and boring times of life.   

To help us drill down on what I am talking about, let us look at the life of Paul.  As we learn in scripture, Paul spent a number of years in prison in various places.  And yet, in the midst of this terrible time and others like it, these are just a few things Paul wrote from prison.

“I pray with joy.  I am confident.  I press on and I do not give up.  Rejoice.  Rejoice always.  I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”  Paul wrote at least four letters from a prison cell we know of and in each of them he says things one would not expect to hear in a letter written from such a place.    

So how is it, that when Paul was enduring horrible experiences, he was able to express the kinds of things I just shared. Like, “Rejoice.  Rejoice always.  I am confident.  Etc.”   I believe Paul answers this question in his letter to the Philippians.  Paul writes, “Above all, live as citizens of heaven.”  In another place he states, “We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus lives.”

With this in mind, let’s explore what heavenly citizenship actually means.  What is it all about?  How do we claim our heavenly citizenship? What does it mean to say we are a citizen of heaven?

First and foremost, when we say we are citizens of heaven, it means we know down deep that we are people that belong to God regardless of what is happening.  Here are some verses from scripture to help us unfold this.

“Whether we live or whether we die, we belong to the Lord.  We belong to God.  It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.  We are all children of God.  We are a chosen people.  We are adopted through Jesus Christ.”  And there are many other verses like these all making the same point that we belong to God.

Being a citizen of heaven is all about claiming that our fundamental identity is grounded in God.  It is about claiming that we are God’s possession.  It is about embracing the truth that whatever we might look like on the outside, regardless of what we do in and with our lives, no matter where we might live, despite job titles and all the other ways we define ourselves, at our core, we are God’s.

You and I belong to God as we were made by God.  When we see our primary identity as beloved children of God above all other potential sources, our sense of primary citizenship shifts.  We no longer are ultimately defined by things that are temporary, which is everything on earth, things like careers, nationality, status, assets, heritage, and place to name a few, but by God who is eternal.  

Through it all, God invites us to claim our heavenly citizenship by embracing that we are each made by God and are God’s beloved children.

What is interesting is that the more we see ourselves as God’s possession, the more we will begin to feel like we are In this temporary world but not ultimately Of this world, because we are not from here, we are from God. This is why Jesus one day, in the midst of prayer said, “My disciples do not belong to this world just as I do not belong to this world.”  

Paul says that when we know we are God’s, when our identity is grounded in God, when we take our heavenly citizenship seriously, we begin to live for Christ and our actions begin to reflect our citizenship.  

When we see ourselves as a citizen of heaven it means we know where we came from, we know where we are headed, we know to whom we belong, our identity is clear, it becomes evident to us who is in charge regardless of circumstance, our actions and behavior reflect Jesus despite it all, we have the peace of God within us, and we understand that our fundamental purpose in life is to love God and love people until we die and are with Jesus.  And when we see ourselves as citizens of heaven we learn to live for Christ knowing we are headed to Christ.