Living as Citizens of an Unshakeable Kingdom

"Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." — Hebrews 12:28-29

​With the whole japa syndrome still active within Nigeria, it is not very difficult to see people who are willing to do anything just to leave the country. In fact, in their quest to leave, many have met their deaths. In view of this, imagine that the United States decided to grant citizenship status to you as a Nigerian. How would you feel? I can almost guess that you would be excited and remain forever grateful. Even when you got there, you would ensure you lived within the bounds of the law to prevent them from revoking your citizenship.

​Now, God has called us into His kingdom as His children. He has translated us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). Do we live in light of this translation? Does our life reflect the great mercies of God in choosing us and saving us from the impending judgment to come? When we became Christians, we became citizens of the kingdom of God (Philippians 3:20). We became subject to the divine and just rulership of Christ. This means that our lives ought to be lived in obedience to God and for His glory alone (1 Corinthians 10:31).

​However, it is not difficult to see that we often do not rightly estimate the value of this kingdom. We frequently forget that our citizenship was made possible by the sacrifice of the blood of God's only Son—Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19). No wonder the hymn writer Jenny Evelyn Hussey wrote:

"Lest I forget Gethsemane,

lest I forget thine agony

lest I forget thy love for me

lead me to Calvary."

We are very forgetful people, so we need to constantly remind ourselves through daily scripture reading, church attendance, and fellowship with God's people who we are so that we might live in light of that truth.

​Finally, if you are a regular churchgoer, a church member, or even a pastor, but your life does not align with God's Word and you are still living in your sins, know today that you are not a citizen of this kingdom (Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5). You may successfully gather with the people of God here on earth, but do not forget that a day is coming when every one of our works will be revealed and each person will be judged (2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Corinthians 3:13). Will you be acknowledged by God, or will you be cast away forever from His presence (Matthew 7:21-23)?