The Harvest is Truly Great

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…”

Philippians 3:20, English Standard Version

Before becoming followers of Christ, we were strangers in relation to God’s kingdom, living under the condemnation of sin, and without hope and God (Ephesians 2:1, 12). All of that changed, however, the moment we accepted Jesus as our Savior through faith because of the prompting and leading of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross covered the penalty of sin that we should have paid, and, through the Holy Spirit, we received a new birth from the Father above (John 3:1-8, Hebrews 9:28, I Peter 2:21, 24, 3:18). With this new birth, the Father transferred us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). And, while we already had an earthly citizenship, the Father bestowed upon us a better citizenship; that is, a heavenly one (Ephesians 2:19-22).

Our heavenly citizenship is better because it gives us access to privileges and blessings that far outweigh any so-called rights we may claim through our earthly citizenship. For example, in this world, God mercifully allows us to enjoy a foretaste of heaven through the empowerment and abiding presence of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:23). Then, when our earthly life ends, the blessings we will receive will include reigning with Christ, receiving a new body, and no longer having to endure the trials and sufferings of the present world (II Corinthians 5:1-5, Philippians 3:20-21, Revelations 20:6 21:1-4). Until the Lord calls us to our final home, however, He expects us to live according to the values of heaven while we sojourn here on earth. During our temporary stay on earth, He calls us to:

Submit to human authority with respect but always remember to obey Him first: Scripture indicates that we should honor those in positions of power and submit to human authority for the Lord’s sake (I Peter 2:13-18). This does not mean, however, that we should submit to our government, supervisors, or other type of leaders if they ask us to do something that goes against what God wants us to do. In fact, Scripture also indicates that “we must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:17-32). While we must give deference to God above all others, there will be times when human authority may want us to do something that does not, in any way, violate what God’s Word explicitly states and the leading of the Holy Spirit. In those instances, we should cooperate.

Set our hope on Him alone: When compared to standing on “Christ, the solid Rock,” Edward Mote correctly wrote, “all other ground is sinking sand.” That certainly could include our government and political leaders, our jobs, our wealth, our education and degrees, and anything else but God in which we may be tempted to invest our hope. They represent the “sinking sand” of life that will, at some point in our lives, fail and disappoint us and not be there for or of any use to us, especially in our time of need (Psalm 146:3-4, Proverbs 11:28, Matthew 6:19-21).

Conversely, we should hope solely in God because He is not fickle and He never lies (Hebrews 6:18, 13:8, Titus 1:2). As He is faithful, we can hope in the promise that He cares for His children (I Peter 5:7). He may not necessarily end our present hardships immediately or at all while we live on this earth (hardships are just a consequence of living in this broken world), but we can trust that He will certainly give us the courage and grace to endure them in a way that nothing else could ever do (Psalm 55:22, Isaiah 41:10, 43:2). We can hope in God’s promise that while our physical bodies become afflicted with illnesses or old age, spiritually, He renews us daily, helping us to fight the good fight (II Corinthians 4:16). And, we can hope in God’s promise that the “light momentary affliction[s]” we face now are “preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (II Corinthians 4:17-18).

Faithfully use what He has given to us in a manner that pleases Him: Jesus told various parables during His earthly ministry to illustrate what He expected His followers to be doing until the day of His return. The parable found in Matthew 25:14-30 is a perfect example. In this parable, Jesus spoke about a man who, before he left to travel into a far country, called His servants and entrusted his goods to them. To each of them, he gave a certain measure of his possessions according to their ability. After leaving for his journey, two of the servants invested what was given to them, which resulted in an increase for their master. In contrast, the one servant who was given the least amount, did nothing with what his master gave to him. Without any clear indication if the servants had any warning of when their master was coming back, he returned and expected them to give an account of what they did with what he had given to them. Those who invested their master’s money, were deemed faithful and were rewarded. The one who did nothing with his master’s money, was deemed slothful and was punished.

The lesson for us is that God expects us to faithfully use what He gives to us to serve Him and further His Kingdom. This may include money, time, skills and talents, and other resources. Instead of acquiring earthly possessions and selfishly hoarding them, for example, God calls us to be generous (as He is generous) by sharing with those who are without or contributing to ministries devoted to furthering His kingdom. We can use our time to minister to and share the love of Christ with those who are brokenhearted. We may be good at carpentry, cooking, teaching, cleaning, or even playing an instrument, for example. Those skills or talents that God has given to use can be put to good use for the sake of His kingdom and to bless other people. In essence, as Warren Wiersbe once said, “God doesn’t bless us just to make us happy; He blesses us to make us a blessing.”

Shine as lights in a dark world: Warren Wiersbe also said that “our citizenship in heaven ought to make us better people here on earth.” That is true because, as citizens of heaven, we are called to walk as children of light reflecting Christ, who is the great and awesome Light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16, Ephesians 5:8). The fruit of this light is reflected in all that is good, right, and true (Ephesians 5:8-9) and can be seen when we, through the help of the Holy Spirit:

-love our neighbors, knowing that “love does no wrong to a neighbor” but demonstrates itself through patience, kindness, and humility while also not being selfish or easily angered, for example (Romans 13:8-10, I Corinthians 13:4-7).

-overcome evil with good rather than retaliating in response to evil that has been done to us (Romans 12:17-21).

-live with gratitude instead of living a life of complaining, including when we are at work, at school, or among our family members (Ephesians 5:20, Philippians 2:14).

-don’t engage in crude and corrupt conversations (Ephesians 4:29, 5:4).

-are honest and walk with integrity, even when no one is watching us or when it is the least popular thing to do (Colossians 3:9, Ephesians 4:25, 28, I Peter 2:12).

Moreover, when we shine as lights, we allow others to see the goodness of God thus creating opportunities for them to glorify Him instead of blaspheming His name because of our un-Christ like behavior (Matthew 5:16, Romans 2:24).

Conclusion

As citizens of heaven, we have the promise that Christ will return to take us to our final home. In the meantime, we must walk wisely during our stay here, making the best use of the time we have left because we will be rewarded according to what we have done when Christ returns (Ephesians 5:15-16, II Corinthians 5:9-10). As we do not know the hour or day when Christ will return, may He find us eagerly awaiting Him by how we live for Him now.