As I held my coffee cup and stared out the window of the car dealer’s lounge, where I was waiting for my car to be serviced, I thought about citizenship. Specifically, about being a citizen of the United States of America. It’s what I am by virtue of my birth to Earnest and Emma Baty, who were also native-born citizens.
For the most part, I have been a good citizen, meaning law abiding, conscientious and positively contributing to society. But there are other times when I have been otherwise. Still, whether I am behaving as a model citizen or not, I am and always will be a citizen of the United States. My behavior does not nullify my birthright.
In like manner, because I was born again by faith in Christ, I am now a citizen of heaven. There are times I am a “good” citizen of the kingdom of heaven and there are other times when I’m not. But I am a citizen of heaven because of my rebirth in Christ, not because of my behavior. According to the Scriptures, citizenship in heaven is not earned, we must be born into it. The apostle John puts it like this: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but [born] of God (John 1:12).
Pondering this as I sipped my coffee, brought a smile to my face and made me freshly grateful for my dual citizenship.
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