Citizens of Another Kingdom

Deep down inside, we always want more out of life. We want the newest, the latest, the freshest, the coolest. We want more. I think God has basically wired us that way. Yet as much as we live life, as much as we experience, as much as we see, it always seems it isn’t quite enough. Why is that? The Bible says that God has placed eternity in our hearts (see Ecclesiastes 3:11).

There is a recognition, deep down inside, that this world won’t be able to deliver on its promises. As Jim Reeves sang, “This world is not my home. I’m just a passing through.” The Bible says that we are citizens of another kingdom. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you become a citizen of Heaven. That is your real home, not Earth.

We are told in Philippians 3:20, “We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for His return as our Savior.” That is why we have this longing deep inside, a longing for something this Earth can never deliver.

That is also why we always will be a bit out of tune with this world and all it celebrates. That is why certain things the world parades before us will leave us cold. As followers of Jesus, we want something more. We want much more.

C.S. Lewis described that longing, that desire, as the “inconsolable longing.” He made this statement: “There have been times when I think we do not desire heaven; but more often I find myself wondering whether, in our heart of hearts, we have ever desired anything else.”

Earth can’t deliver on its promises, but Heaven can. And as Christians we’ll live happily ever after—in Heaven, in the presence of God.