Resident Aliens

So you’re taking the family road trip, and America’s interstate highway system is the pathway to your destination—to Niagara Falls, the Outer Banks, or Acadia National Park. After a few hours scrunched in the car, it’s time to stretch the legs at one of those wonderful Rest Areas.

Here’s what you DON’T do at the Rest Area: unload the trunk, haul in the bags, lock the car, and settle in. You DON’T unroll your sleeping bags, put on pajamas, and curl up for the night at the Rest Area. Of course not; it’s just a quick stop. The Rest Area isn’t your destination.

So too, this world is NOT our home, we’re only passing through. We’re citizens of another “country,” a heavenly kingdom. Our passport may be stamped to show we’ve visited this world, but it’s not our final destination. You could say we’re “resident aliens” here. According to the IRS, resident aliens are “non-U.S. citizens currently residing in the United States.” They live here, but they have citizenship elsewhere. So too, Christians live in this world, but our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20). That’s why it’s so ridiculous when Christians unpack and settle in here at the Rest Stop—how bizarre to act as if this were our final destination!

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