Citizens of America as Citizens of Heaven

Like so much in recent months, July 4th will be different this year. In the past, my family has used the 4th of July as a great opportunity to spend time with our community, friends, family, and often to demonstrate hospitality to our neighbors.

Civic holidays like this are still one of the times when it is most culturally acceptable to just invite a neighbor over and hang out. We will miss that this year.

Alas, the 4th of July will be different this year, won’t it? No packed out parks for fireworks shows, fewer neighborhood BBQs, etc.

It’s a good year for us to take a moment and pause and ask something we very rarely ask: What does it mean to be a citizen of America, if I am first a citizen of the kingdom of heaven?

In Philippians 3:20-21, Paul says, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

As Christians, we are sons and daughters of God, loyal first to Christ Jesus our Lord, and fundamentally, citizens of a different kingdom. 

How does that change the way we view being citizens of America?

  • It means we are free to celebrate that which is good and critique and help change  that which is not.

As Christians, we know that the world was created good, but is now broken by sin's impact. If that’s the case, we should imagine that we will find both beauty and brokenness in every little sliver of God’s world.

As followers of Jesus, who are also citizens of America, we can celebrate that which reflects goodness, truth, and beauty (as defined and depicted in God’s word) and we can labor to bring about change to that which does not. The Christian is free to do this (and indeed, should do this) because our fundamental loyalty transcends our commitment to country.

  •  It means living in the Christian story will require us to always distinguish it from the American story.

Because of the religious climate and culture that surrounded America’s founding, it has inevitably been a temptation since the beginning of America to confuse and conflate America’s past, present, and future with the story of the bible.

And yet, the Christian story often cuts against the grain of America’s story. This means that to be a follower of Jesus in America should and will be uncomfortable (possibly more so in the future than it has been in the past). Because the story of America -- though it sometimes aligns with the story of scripture --  is not the same as the story of scripture. Anytime this is a reality, we must be vigilant to hold this story up against the truths of the Bible to determine what should stand and what should fall because America has been and is telling a different story.

  • It means that we should have more in common with a Christian in another country than with a non-Christian in our own country. 

This should change the way we think about the international community beyond the USA and should shape the way we view those from other home countries who now reside in this country.

I cannot speak Bengali. I know a few phrases, but I would be totally lost in Bangladesh. That being said, I, by grace through faith...have my whole life in Christ Jesus. This means that I, right this moment, share the most fundamental reality of my life with a Bengali Christian. We may not speak the same mother tongue, we may never meet, but my life is inextricably connected to their life in a way that is absolutely unique to our shared relationship to Christ Jesus.

I am grateful to live where I live. I love Richardson deeply and I measure other cities by the unique love I have for this one. I am grateful to be a Texan. I truly love the natural beauty and cultural diversity of this great state. And I am grateful to be a citizen of the USA. I want it to be radically shaped by the good news of Christ Jesus, our King.

On Saturday, I will thank God for where he has placed me, I will pray for the leaders of this country, and I will beg him to bring revival to the people of God, His church, in America so that we may be people embedded in the gospel story, marked by the gifts and fruit of the spirit, and a people of salt and light in a bland and dark world.

Kyle Worley