Today’s 333 Devotional: “Becoming a Worthy Citizen”

Today headlines are filled with matters pertaining to our rights as citizens of the United States being violated during this pandemic. This got me thinking about what it means to be a good citizen.

The Apostle Paul said, “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” (Philippians 1:27)

Paul begins by saying that our conduct needs to be worthy of the gospel of Christ, or you may say, our conduct is to reflect Jesus Christ our Savior. Our one desire should be to live like Christ regardless of what may be happening in the world around us, which includes what our government does or doesn’t do.

People judge Christianity not based upon what the Bible says, but upon the lives of those who say they adhere to it.

What really brought this home is how this reads in the Greek. What Paul said is that we are to conduct our citizenship in a way that is worthy of the good news of Christ.

So where is our real and true citizenship?

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20)

We are citizen of heaven living on earth. Therefore, while we are citizens of the United States, this is not our real and true citizenship. It’s heaven.

And since we are citizens of heaven, we are regulated by a higher set of laws, the laws of heaven, or what is found in God’s word, the Bible. Therefore we are to obey God’s laws as good citizens, citizens whose conduct is to be worthy of heaven and of the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords.

Remember, people will judge heaven based upon its citizens.