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Citizens

  Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

 

At the risk of being obvious, what does it mean that we are citizens with God’s people, or members of His household? A citizen is someone who has a relationship with a governing body that involves each responding to the other, acknowledging the rights of and fulfilling responsibilities to the other. Being members of a household is basically the same. Back when Paul wrote these words, neither was quite as automatic as they are today. You could be born a citizen or buy citizenship, but the majority of people weren’t granted it. Many were slaves. The same was true of families. You could be granted membership or adopted - often as an adult, or you could be a slave and still be a member of the household.

            As a member of a household or a citizen, one is expected to act in the best interest of the household or nation, which Scripture describe as loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths and loving our neighbor as ourselves. It also means that we may expect other citizens and members to do the same. We have to bear in mind that they may be no better at fulfilling this commandment than we are, but instead of assuming that “they won’t like me,” perhaps we should consider the possibility that they will love us anyhow and whether they do or not, it’s our job to love them.

            But there’s another aspect to this. If we are citizens and members of the household, we should also consider the possibility that God will love us, that He will act on our behalf, and that we belong there, with Him. We are welcome.

 

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