“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.” – Philippians 3:20-21, NIV

Years ago, I heard a missionary sing the old hymn, How Beautiful Heaven must be and I fell in love with it.

The chorus says;

“How beautiful Heaven must be,

Sweet home of the happy and free;
Fair haven of rest for the weary,
How beautiful Heaven must be.”

Our Lord Jesus and the Early Church did speak quite a lot about heaven.

Today, there are not a lot of sermons about heaven.

Most of the preaching in our pulpits is about life here on earth. 

Apparently, talking about heaven and the second coming of our Lord Jesus have become somehow too far-fetched for many preachers and Christians.

What gets us excited these days are sermons about the ‘good life’ here on earth – posh homes, building net-worth, financial security, happy marriages, getting visas, etc.

Of course all these are good; however, our meditation today says that “our citizenship is in heaven.”

As another popular hymn says, “this world is not my home; I’m just passing through.”

Our meditation today says that from heaven we eagerly await the second coming of our Lord Jesus.

Shortly before ascending to heaven, Jesus said He was going to prepare a place and He would return to take us so we can be where He is (John 14:3).

Technically, ‘heaven’ is the uncreated dwelling place of God (see Deuteronomy 26:15).

That is why God is called our ‘heavenly Father.’

The ‘Kingdom of heaven’ was a common theme in the message of Jesus.

Being ‘citizens of heaven’ means that those who believe in Christ belong to another kingdom, which is different from this world.

Jesus came from heaven and after His mission on earth, He went back to heaven, and is currently seated on the right hand of God; where angels and authorities and powers are subject to Him.” (1 Peter 3:22).

“If you then are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth”

COLOSSIANS 3:1-2

From heaven, Christ will descend again to receive His saints at the ‘Rapture’ to make it their eternal dwelling place. Oh, how beautiful heaven must be!

For that reason, the Bible teaches that Christians should not put their affection on the things of the world.

“If you then are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2).

Does that imply that Christians should not go to school, or work to earn a living or marry or raise children because our citizenship is in heaven?

Not at all! In the original language, the word ‘affection’ denotes ‘passionate desire’ – to set the entire mind on something.

The Bible says in Psalm 62:10: “Do not trust in oppression, and don’t become vain in robbery: If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.”

So, whereas we should be active participants in this ordinary life on earth, we should not completely set our hearts and minds on the temporary life of the world at the expense of eternal life.

We are urged to be like Abraham, who, “by faith made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country, living in tents; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:9-10).

Sermons about heaven are not common these days but no matter how comfortable (or uncomfortable) life on earth might be, we are strangers and sojourners/travelers/aliens on it because our citizenship is in heaven.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for making me a citizen of beautiful heaven. Help me to set all my affection on life beyond earth because I know that the things of this world are temporal and fleeting. For the glory of Your Name, Amen!