Article
Citizens Of Heaven
Matt Sparks, 11th May 2022
Every day for the next 2 weeks we will hear about two guys. Two guys, who say some stuff, dodge some questions, say some bad stuff about the other guy and his ideas, make a few promises, and move on to the next marginal seat, and repeat the process again! And at the end of it, we’ve got to pick one of the guys to be our leader. It’s called an election!
How do we engage in the political process as Christians?
In his song Blessings, Chance the Rapper has this line, “don’t believe in kings, believe in the Kingdom”. This election, I want to encourage you to heed his advice! As we draw close to voting day, we need to be reminded that our hope is not in any one political party, candidate, or election promise. Our hope is in Jesus, and His Kingdom!
As we queue up on May 21 to cast our vote and enjoy an election day sausage sizzle, we must do so with the reminder that our primary identity and citizenship is not as Australian citizens. Sure, we love this country, even with all its flaws. But our primary allegiance, our first citizenship, is with the Kingdom of God. Paul says in Philippians 3:20, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ”
(NIV).
The expansive nature of Jesus vision for the nations of this world, no longer resides with one geopolitical people group (Israel). His vision, transcends boundaries, languages, and ideologies. The theocratic vision of the Old Testament is no longer a reality for Jesus followers. This means our vision is not for a “Christian nation”. God’s purposes are far bigger than any one nation, past, present, or future!
Rather, as sojourners and exiles, we participate in this culture as dual citizens, with our heavenly citizenship guiding our earthly one. This is the identity given to God’s people from 1 Peter 2, when Peter says,
“9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.
The people of God are a new and set apart nation. No longer defined by race, ethnicity, or birth, but incorporated by faith into God’s special people. As God’s people, we live here as theological foreigners and exiles (v.11). People, who like exiled Israel, are away from our true home. And just like Daniel and his posse, we seek the peace and prosperity of our cities (Jer 29:7), knowing that God’s promises are for a better city, a heavenly one.
What matters to us most, as apprentices of Jesus, are the values of the Kingdom of God. We care about the things God cares about. The policies we’re interested in are policies that push back the darkness, allow for human flourishing, and cultivate a peaceful and prosperous society.
Consequently, we must be honest and admit that there is no one political party in our system that aligns neatly with the ways of Jesus. At the very least, this should cause us to avoid equating one particular political party with Jesus’ vision for the Kingdom. We are not rigidly tied to any one party, or one leader. Rather we’re thoughtful and flexible about our political affiliations. For our allegiance, is not to ‘kings’, but to the Kingdom