Like most people, whenever I am travelling in an unfamiliar area, I often look for some kind of landmark as a reference point so that I can have some idea of where I am in relation to where I have been. In a city, it might be a tall building. In the country, it might be a water tower in the distance or a prominent mountain. When I look back at the reference point, I can know if I am going generally in the right direction or if I have somehow gotten turned around. We need reference points as we navigate life.
For a believer, the kingdom of God is our reference point. As long as we have our eyes on Jesus and are moving toward the kingdom of God, we know we are in a good place. The New Testament declares that we are now citizens of heaven. Paul declares, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Phil. 3:19-21).
Many believers live as if the kingdom of heaven is somewhere in their future when they begin to walk on streets of gold. Their primary reference point for living is this world, rather than the kingdom of God. We can tell when that is the case by the things that we focus on and identify with. For instance, if my primary focus and identity is found in a political party, then my reference point for living is in this world and in the natural realm. If I think of myself first as a Democrat or a Republican and judge or categorize those around me in those terms, then I have given up a kingdom perspective for an earthly perspective.
It’s not just politics. If I desire to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company more than I desire to be a faithful follower of Jesus, then my reference point for living is this world, its values, and its ways. If my primary identity is tied up in sports, music, the arts, or my career, then I am missing out on the privileges as well as the responsibilities of kingdom citizenship.
If I think of myself as a citizen of this world now and the kingdom of heaven later, it will limit what God can do through me. I think the perfect example of those opposing mindsets is found in the account of Jesus “feeding the five thousand” in John 6. Jesus was preaching around the Sea of Galilee and great crowds were following him. As great numbers of men, women and children settled in on a hillside to hear his teaching, Jesus asked Philip where they could buy bread to feed all those folks.
Phillip and the rest of the twelve were taken back when he even suggested that they should feed the crowds. These solid citizens of earth did the quick math. Phillip announced that it would take more than six months wages to provide just a bite for each person in the crowd. Andrew had done a quick inventory in the crowd and found only five small barley loaves and two fish. They announced that the situation was hopeless because the resources simply weren’t available. There reference point for living was the natural realm.
Jesus, however, saw no such limitations. His reference point for living was the kingdom of God in which there are infinite resources available to its citizens. There are no shortages in heaven. With that perspective, Jesus gave thanks, broke the bread and fish they had into pieces and had the apostles begin to pass out the food. When it was over, thousands of people had been fed until they were satisfied and twelve baskets full of surplus food were taken up afterwards.
As a citizen of heaven, Jesus did not fear shortages, storms, or even his enemies. Remember, he accessed heaven as a man not as God. On several occasions, he rebuked his followers because they had no faith in the provision or protection of heaven, because the world (the natural realm) and its limitations was their reference point. Jesus functioned in this world as the Son of Man. That means that whatever he did by faith, we can also do and whatever withdrawals he made from heaven are available to us as well.
One of the most transforming things we can do in our lives is to shift our primary identity from being a citizen of this planet to being a citizen of heaven. Remember that we are to pray, “on earth as it is in heaven.” As citizens of heaven, we have the privilege of establishing the culture of heaven on earth which means that everyone has enough, everyone has health, everyone has peace, everyone has purpose, and so forth. We can only do that, however, if we know who we are and what is available to us from the throne of God. Ask God to give you that perspective.