Author: Elaine

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Citizens of heaven, standing side by side

Paul has more to say about living as citizens of heaven. Look at the last half of the Philippians verse, where he paints a picture of the unified body of Christ.

Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing side by side, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.
Philippians 1:27 (NLT)

Citizens of heaven, living wherever they have been placed on this earth, share one Spirit and give their allegiance to one Lord. And when we live as citizens of heaven, then we stand side by side, fighting together to spread Christ’s Good News.

A beautiful and powerful picture of Christ’s church and unity in His Spirit and mission!

I believe that when we do live as citizens of heaven then a unity of Spirit does come. We are all members of Christ’s body. Sometimes our earthly bodies fight themselves, and they suffer and even die. We members of Christ’s body are not to fight each other. What does Scripture say? Fights and quarrels and divisions among us come from our own jealousy and selfish desires. When we live controlled by desires and motivations that come from our sinful nature, then we are living as citizens of the world, enemies of God.*

Tough words.

The Screwtape Letters, by C. S. Lewis, is a book of letters written by the devil Screwtape to mentor a younger, inexperienced demon on effective ways of tempting and tripping up Christians. This is Screwtape, warning his trainee, Wormwood, about Christ’s church (the “we” refers to Satan and his demons):

…we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy.

We have been called to carry on Christ’s mission on this earth. If only we can look beyond our selfish wants and catch a glimpse of the great power of citizens of heaven, a “terrible army,” standing side by side and fighting for the Good News of Christ!

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* See James 4:1, 1 Corinthians 3:3 　

　

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Live as Citizens of Heaven

In Yellowstone National Park, volunteers at gift shops, information centers, and attractions wear tags bearing not only their names, but also their home states. Larry from Idaho sells you a sandwich, Alice from Florida leads your geology walk, and Evelyn from North Carolina welcomes you to a museum.

And ever since reading the apostle Paul’s “Above all” admonition in Philippians 1, I’ve been thinking about the children of God putting on their name tags every morning.

Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.    (Philippians 1:27a NLT)

These words bear the key messages of the New Testament:

The Good News is that you are now a citizen of heaven, part of the family of God.

Your life is far more than the years you spend on this earth. This world is not your home.

But while you are here, as a citizen of heaven and part of the family of God, live in such a way that you represent well your family and its Good News.

As soon as Jesus began teaching on earth, He made it clear that the Kingdom of Heaven is something we are a part of now. He is also preparing a place for us to be with Him; Christians look forward to that hope. But today we are already part of His Kingdom; and in everything we do right now, we’re to live as worthy citizens.

That means we need to know how the Kingdom operates. If you’re a citizen of the U.S. or Canada or France or India, you must live according to that country’s laws. You learn and live by the mores of your society, its economical structure, and even its history. Just so in the Kingdom of God. Jesus set the standards for conduct in His Kingdom, and life here operates differently than in the kingdoms of the world. Citizenship here is open to anyone who chooses it, but He asks us to live–now— according to His standards.

This also means that we are now living in a place (the U.S., Canada, France, India) that is not our ultimate home. Our old life is dead; now we live a new life in the Spirit given by Jesus. We live in a new dimension, beyond all the burdens and disappointments, joys and rewards, necessities and delights of our earthly plane. Our new life has, as its final goal, a home in God’s presence forever. Jesus was clear about that, too. He is preparing a place for us, a place where we will live with Him.

In the meantime,

Above all … live as citizens of heaven … in a manner worthy of the Good News…

How would it change my day if, every morning, I’d pin a name tag to my shirt, a simple card that says, “Elaine, Kingdom of Heaven” ? That is really what we do when we take the name Christian. I think I also need a leather bracelet with letters stamped into it: LACOH.

The “Above all” words have been a constant reminder of my citizenship and my desire to walk worthy.

 

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Filled with Fruit

May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation — the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ — for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
              Philippians 1:11 (NLT)

The movie A Walk in the Clouds is a romantic drama from the 90s, set in California wine country. It’s the usual boy-meets-girl-and-love-overcomes-obstacles story, but there’s one scene burned (literally) into my memory.

The girl’s family has lovingly tended their vineyard for generations, and the existence of many families depends on the harvest. One night, there’s a fight between two of the main characters, a lantern is knocked over, and in minutes flames race along rows and rows of grapevines, hungry lines of fire running over the hills and valley, devouring the vineyard.

Sometimes I feel as though that’s what happens to my vineyard. I’ve tended the fruits I want to grow, the mercy and kindness and gentleness and patience and forgiveness and love. Then along comes the enemy and shoots flaming arrows into my vines — arrows burning with anger, rage, malice, greed, and idolatry. Fires burn everywhere and threaten to destroy the fruit I’ve worked so hard to bring to harvest. And, sadly, the enemy doesn’t even have to stand outside the walls to aim his arrows … he shoots them from the depths of my own darkness.

Now, the really good news is that this dark picture I feel is not truth! The truth is, this is not my vineyard, it is Christ’s. I no longer live, but He lives in me. He is the one who tends lovingly, bringing the fruit to harvest. All depends on Christ, not me! The enemy will always attempt to burn and destroy, but Christ is greater than the enemy.

In the movie, one vine survives — the one vine originally brought from Mexico that gave birth to every other vine on the hills — and still holds life after the fire. Christ is the life-giving vine; He is the one who brings a harvest of abundant fruit. No matter how long and hard we work, we cannot produce the harvest ourselves. He is the one who plants and tends and grows.

That’s how we live, even in earthly bodies encumbered by old human natures. We trust in Him, who lives in us. We continually seek Him, and He brings power to us when we’re weak and gives us new strength.

All glory and praise to God and God alone!

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Read also: Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6,7,10; Psalm 105:4; Isaiah 40:29-31; John 15:4-5

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Hearts Made Strong

Believe it or not, there’s a set of dumbbells in my closet. Every now and then I pull them out and fling them around for a few days. Then (as you’ve probably already suspected) I forget about them for months at a time.

In my Bible, there’s an old worn index card with faded writing. My own, younger, handwriting. The heading says, “Heart exercises,” and below that is a list from 1 Corinthians 13. Every now and then, I read that list to remind me of what my love needs to practice.

Yet I confess that sometimes those old, familiar passages just run over me like the waters of a summer downpour … poured out, they run over hard ground, run off and quickly drain away before they have a chance to sink in and water my heart and soul.

This morning, I read the heart exercises in a different translation, the waters soak deep, and I am humbled by how much work I still have to do …

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.

This verse from Philippians is what reminded me of the heart exercises. The word for love used here is that agape love, the love that takes action for the good of someone else.

I ask the Spirit how that love can overflow more and more in my life … and then I’m reminded of 1 Corinthians 13. And, wow! Take a look at the actions this love produces. And believe me, exercising these things is far harder than flinging dumbbells. 

* Patience
* Kindness
* Not jealous or boastful or proud or rude 
* Does not demand its own way (uh-oh. I do believe in the last two sessions of our small group Bible study, I’ve said these very words: I like to have my own way, I like to have things the way I want them.)
* Not irritable
* Keeps no record of wrongs
* Does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices when truth wins
* Never gives up
* Never loses faith
* Is always hopeful
* Endures through every circumstance

I could add a note to every one of those points, telling you how I’ve failed in the last few weeks. Instead, I’d like to focus on the good news, the hope and the promise.

The last part of the Philippians verse reflects Paul’s prayer for growth in knowledge and understanding. Me! Me! Me, too!  I want to grow in understanding of how my life can overflow with agape love toward those God has put in my life. As you can tell, I don’t care too much about those barbells, but the desire of my heart is to learn how to love as God loves us. (And remember, Father, you’ve promised to give me the desires of my heart!)

There’s more good news. In his letter to the Christians in Thessalonica, Paul offers the same kind of prayer for growing and overflowing love in their lives. And then he adds this:

May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people.

What a promise! This kind of loving makes our hearts strong, blameless, and holy!

I want a heart like that. And I intend to be far more faithful to this strength training than I am to those dusty things in my closet.

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Scripture: Philippians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7; 1 Thessalonians 3:13 (all NLT)

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Out of Agape – Home

You’ve heard statements like, “This is what I was born to do.” Or “They were made for each other.” You know what’s implied here — everyone will be happiest, most satisfied, or most productive, when they find that one thing that seems to be their purpose in life, or the one person who seems to be a perfect complement.  

Here’s a most amazing verse:

The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: “I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.”

The Holy God who lives forever has chosen to live with us; He brings those who are humble and have contrite hearts into a high and holy place. 

I am thinking again about that veil in the temple, setting apart the place that was the earthly dwelling of God. Jesus tore apart that separation from God. Now those who have humble and repentant hearts are the holy dwelling place of the eternal God. A breathtaking and humbling thought.

Jesus said the same thing:

Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.”

He follows up that statement with the promise to send the Holy Spirit who gives us power to do what He has taught.

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Another mind-boggling statement! 

God comes and makes His home with each one of us. He works in us, so that we can do what Christ gave us life to do. We were born again to bring glory to the eternal and holy God. And His agape makes it happen.

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And although it’s a bit off-subject, just one more Sunday-morning thought: 

He has made His home in every other believer. He is working to give each heart the desire and power to please Him and bring Him glory. The enemy would rather we look up and down the pews and criticize or judge those around us. God would rather we see what He has done and worship Him.

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Scripture: Isaiah 57:15, John 14:23, Philippians 2:13 (all NLT)