What Good is Citizenship?

On Sunday, our church had a special moment to celebrate one member becoming a US citizen. He’s been in the country for many years as a permanent resident, but a few years ago he lost his livelihood when all non-citizens working for certain government agencies lost their jobs. He had to wade through all the background checks, fingerprinting, and paperwork to get the gold-stamped certificate he held up so proudly on Sunday. For him, citizenship meant a good job and the means to support his family.

In our area of the state, about 40% of the people are foreign–born (including half my immediate family). It was fairly easy for my kids to get their citizenship certificates. We only had to fork out a few hundred dollars each. (I said easy, not cheap.) For MC, in 1998, we had to apply, but the government had to grant it. DK and JT were citizens once we landed. So when I tried to get their Social Security cards, I took a copy of the new law, the adoption decrees, and our passports. SSA told me they would be issued numbers as permanent residents. I said, “No, they are citizens.” The clerk repeated his assertion they were permanent residents. I said, “Homeland Security says they’re citizens.” He said, “We don’t care what Homeland Security says. We have our own rules.” So once again, I had to pay for the certificates to prove to the US government my kids were citizens to get new SSA cards. Gotta love bureaucracy.

It made me think about my heavenly citizenship. We don’t have to jump through any hoops, pay any fees, fill out any forms, endure any waiting periods. We have access to all the riches in heaven because Jesus paid for it all. All we have to do is ask for it.

Paul said to the Ephesians, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household …” We are not only citizens, we are his children, adopted into his family!

And we don’t need a certificate to prove it.