The Best of the Portals of Prayer

Read: Philippians 3:7-21 / Psalm 92

“Our citizenship is in heaven.”
Philippians 3:20

Citizens of Heaven

St. Paul was speaking to people who were “colonists”, who lived in one place but had their citizenship in another. He asks them to apply their political situation to their religious life. They were living on earth, but they must conduct themselves by heaven’s constitution and bill of rights. There are few things that the Church of today needs more than this note of other-worldliness. This is not to say the problems of this world are not of any concern to the Christian. On the contrary, we are to be concerned about it’s affairs because it is our Father’s world. We must speak the language of this world, but we must do so with a foreign accent. There should be something about the people of God that make us stand out to the crowd. This heavenly citizenship involves many risks, many trials. But that is what “bearing the cross” is all about. We follow Jesus who said: “If anyone would come after me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me” [Matthew 16:24]. In Him, and Him alone, we have eternal life.

Heavenly Father, grant us grace so to proclaim Thy Word and so to live, that others may know of heaven, our home. Amen.

February 03, 1971