Hi Friend,

The idea of citizenship has been a subject of interest for mankind since people first gathered in communities.  It occupied the minds of Greek philosophers and Roman Senators—as well as the writers of the U.S. Constitution.  So it should be no surprise that it’s a concept at the core of Christian teachings.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus to encourage members by saying, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.”  (Ephesians 2: 19-20)

To the people who heard this message in the first century, there could have been only one way to understand Paul’s words. They were citizens of the same country—equal before God—with Abraham, Moses, and Elijah.  Furthermore, the same laws would be written on the hearts of the Ephesian Christians that were written on the hearts of the Old Testament patriarchs.

Citizenship has become a topic of hot debate in the United States.  Of the roughly 180 countries in the world, less than half of these nations have what are considered “consensual citizens”.  The rest are serfs or slaves.  That opens the question, “What is a citizen?”  Can you be a citizen if you have no rights?  Do you have a say about who the leaders are and what standards they are required to meet?  Are you a citizen if you cannot participate in the system of justice—decide what laws are fair and who can serve on a jury.  Is someone granted citizenship automatically when they cross the border?  Does a country have a right to close their border to a person with a contagious disease?  All of these are characteristics of citizenship.

There was a time when Moses was overwhelmed with responsibilities leading the Israelites to the Promised Land, he went to God to ask for help.  God told Moses to choose seventy men to share the load and the context suggests that Moses let the individual tribes choose their representative.  The citizens had a voice in the only government of God that existed on earth.

Then Moses brought the men before God, and He gave these men the same spirit He had given Moses.  God authenticated the choices made by Moses and the people.

It was a method that worked so well it was duplicated in the New Testament when certain widows were overlooked in the distribution of food.  To rectify the problem the disciples instructed the church to “seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.”  (Acts 6:3)  As with Moses, the people made a choice of who had the Holy Spirit and who was filled with wisdom and their choices were validated by the disciples.

When Israel came into the Promised Land and land was being distributed, there were five daughters of  a man named Zelophehad who were overlooked.  They were about to lose their inheritance because the laws dictated the inheritance should go to male heirs.  The ladies appealed to Moses who took the matter to God.  God responded that “The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right.”  (Numbers 27:7)

These examples demonstrate that citizens in the Kingdom of God are offered a voice in how the law is administered, who the leaders are and the right of appeal when individual rights are overlooked.

Jesus gave us another key element of citizenship in the Kingdom of God.  It happened when a centurion—a military officer who was a gentile—came to Jesus to ask him to heal his servant.  When Jesus offered to come to his home the centurion confessed that he was not worthy for Jesus to come to his home, but he believed that Jesus’ word would be sufficient for his servant to be healed.

Jesus was amazed at the response.  “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”  Notice, this man was not descended from Abraham—he was of a different race.  Jesus continued, “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:10-12)

Jesus was clearly saying that citizenship in the Kingdom of God is based on faith, not race—the same reason America is called a melting pot.  It isn’t race that makes a man a citizen—it is commitment to the ideals upon which the nation is founded.

Until next time,

Jim O’Brien