Recently, we had to renew our daughter’s Canadian passport. As an “international” family, we have had numerous experiences with the process of gaining entrance to and citizenship from both the United States and Canada.
Each time we have had to do detailed research, checked and re-checked our applications and requirements, and poured in hours of energy to make sure every detail was done exactly to the specifications. If we fail to meet the specifications, we might be stuck starting all over or even getting rejected.
Thankfully, this time proved to be one of our smoother government paperwork adventures, though I had my usual worries about it. The painstaking process and the underlying stress these experiences cause have made me think a lot about our heavenly citizenship.
For millenia, ever since Cain first attempted to work his way to God with his own means of offering (see Genesis 4), we humans have been making the process of gaining our heavenly citizenship harder than it has to be.
Even though we preach the gospel of grace to others, we can still struggle by trying to follow requirements to gain a heavenly passport for God’s kingdom.
Paul’s great theological treatise, the book of Romans, covers every angle of our human tendency for trying to earn the favor we already have in God. In chapter four of this letter, Paul writes that the promise made to Abraham and all his descendants that he would be heir of the world did not come about because Abraham followed the Law (Romans 4:13). The Law wasn’t even written until hundreds of years later.
The promise that Abraham would be an heir was by faith. It wasn’t obtained because he followed certain laws and procedures, cutting through some God-written red tape. With the Lord, there isn’t any red tape except that of the blood of His Son! Hallelujah!
The promise, in fact, “rests on grace” and is “guaranteed to all his offspring”, to the “one who shares the faith of Abraham” (Romans 4:16, ESV).
Other translations use the word “depends” on grace. It’s so hard for me to get that through my head and heart because, like Cain, I still feel as if there must be something I have to do to work for God’s favor, rather than completely resting and trusting in what He’s provided: the sacrifice of Himself.
Regardless of what earthly kingdom in which you claim citizenship, your heavenly citizenship requires nothing of you except to believe that the King wants you in His country – the heaven and earth to come where we have our eternal rest in Him.
Taking It Further:
In what ways are you tempted to try to earn the favor you’ve already received from God through His Son? How does the fact that the promise rests on grace bring you comfort and peace? How can you testify of that to others?