The Veil: Citizenship

By Kathie SweetMay 17, 2019

Colossians 3:1-4

The big buzz since the election of our current president has been “the wall”. President Trump’s campaign promise involved building a 1,954-mile wall to keep immigrants from illegally entering the country, because “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best.”

To enter the United States legally, an individual needs a Visa, which has an expiration date of 90 days. To stay legally, he needs a Green Card, which is very difficult to obtain and can take years. He must have a sponsor, a family member, or an employer who specifically needs this individual to fill the job. If said individual desires to become a US citizen five years after obtaining a Green Card, he must go through another process, paying the fees, passing the test. As a naturalized citizen, he now owes allegiance to the US government and is entitled to protection from it. This individual has passed many hurdles to become a citizen of the “Land of the Free”. But it’s not free, and it’s unobtainable for many.

Fortunately for many of us, we are natives of the US, born in a country with many rights and privileges not afforded to citizens in other nations. Even more fortunate, for everyone, born anywhere, is the opportunity to become a citizen of heaven. We are citizens of a country by birth, and citizens of heaven by rebirth.

There is no wall.
There is no expiration date.
Jesus is our sponsor.
When Jesus sends his people, he is sending his best.
There is no fee, for Christ paid it for us.
There is no test, only a decision.
Our passport is stamped when our name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
We owe allegiance to God.
We are entitled to protection under the cross.

You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. Ephesians 2:19-20

Questions:

When you say the Pledge of Allegiance, or sing the national anthem, is it in the same spirit as when you pray or sing a worship song? Would this be considered idol worship?
When you travel to a foreign country, do you identify yourself as an American? What if, when asked where you’re from, you said, “I’m a Christian.”?
Job applications often contain optional demographic questions such as ethnicity, race, gender, and disability, citing affirmative action and data collection. What if the demographic questions included “Are you a Christian?”