A CLEAN SLATE

Philippians 3:20 New Living Translation

“But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.”

            There is a logo, NOTW, that stands for ‘Not Of This World’. I happen to have it tattooed on my right forearm to forever remind me that I no longer belong here. I’m not better than anyone else just because I have a personal relationship with Christ; if you also have a personal relationship with Christ then you’re sins are forgiven just like mine and like me you’ve become a citizen of heaven. That statement happens to be an ‘if-then’ clause. Ifyou or I do thus and so, thenthis is what the result will be. 

            To be clear about this, it doesn’t mean “I’m no better than any other Christian, but am definitely superior to non-Christians.”Not at all. The only difference between a non-believer and me is that I sought and received forgiveness from God. That puts a person in right standing with him. Without this relationship a person is separated from God, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Forgiveness is available to every person with no restrictions or conditions. You must acknowledge your need of forgiveness, then ask God to forgive you from a sincere heart. 

            What does it mean exactly to say we are citizens of heaven? Philippi was a colony of Rome, therefore people living there can declare that they are citizens of Rome. It’s no different with a true believer in Christ, because the church is a colony of heaven, therefore we are its’ citizen. Knowing this we should live accordingly. We should never live a certain way to get something in return. We should live godly lives out of gratitude for the second chance God has given us. He didn’t have to be he did because of his undying, unconditional love for his creation.

                  If you have chosen to believe in God and believe what scripture says, then you would know that one day Christ will return for his church. We long for that day with eager anticipation. No one can know the date of his return; scripture makes that clear. Matthew 24:36 states, "However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.” We must live in a state of readiness. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Reformation Study Bible