Seated and Secured: A Rooted Identity, a 5-Day Plan by Brittany TurnerShembull

Promise #4-I am a Citizen of Heaven

I grew up near the various national embassies in Washington, DC. Whenever I drove by these vast estates, I became enamored with the elaborate décor and the way their homes stood in a stark juxtaposition from the rest of the landscape.

As we drove, my mother explained that those homes stood as a small piece of their home country in our own. There before my eyes stood a little bit of China or Chile, India to, Indonesia, Greece, and even Ireland. Embassy Row is truly a sight to behold.

On each property lives an ambassador who acts as a representative of their country of origin. Their customs, culture, and ways are embodied in their actions and on their property. These buildings and their people stand as an archetype of their home in a country very different from their own. While they live in a foreign country, they are held accountable to the laws, customs, and traditions of their homeland.

Dear friends, like those leaders, we are citizens and ambassadors of another kingdom. As members of the body of Christ, we are also granted citizenship in a heavenly kingdom. Where we live, how we act, and what we do each day should not align with the culture or customs of our temporary living place but instead to our Father’s Kingdom, the kingdom to which we truly belong.

To put it quite frankly, we are not from this place, and therefore, our allegiance has to correlate with our place of origin, not our place of residence. The way I live, breathe, and exist should align with the ways of heaven, the place where my permanent citizenship remains.

We do not have to surrender our days to the powers at work here on the earth. We answer to a different guide and a much higher standard. We are all together being built and led differently and in line with a divergent culture and its customs.

We are citizens of the upside-down kingdom, where service shows our love, where diversity is embraced and uplifted, not erased, where the last are first, and where our devotion to God and His ways puts us at polar opposites with the standards in the world around us.

We are raising our kids differently. We are honoring our marriages differently. We are showing up to our jobs and careers with a different cadence. We are walking and moving with integrity because we are set apart, and this is not our home.

We are led by the power of the Holy Spirit, and we do not have to look to the “spirits” and “gurus” of this world for guidance. The Lord Himself goes before us as our guide and has placed His Spirit inside of us to lead us daily.

We are built differently, friends, and we are compelled by the love and grace of God to move and respond to His love accordingly!

The word in original Greek here for joined is “oikodomeó,” which means to join together in close or tight identification. Through salvation, we are joined with our Savior. Our living becomes associated with His character in the world. As His ambassadors, for better or worse, we are, for many, their first introduction to what our kingdom is like.

What kind of example are we leading with our lives?

This same word comes from the Greek root words “oikos”—a house, and “domeo”—to build.

We are being built up as His own embassy. His temples and representations on the earth—not of perfection, but as pillars of His grace for a broken people and proof of His resurrection and restoration power.

We are being built differently, so we must act differently, too.

We are being built on something stable and unshakeable—our God.

The God who never sleeps nor slumbers is immutable and unwavering, and through Him, we have the strength to stand.

Lead your life as a citizen and royal heir of heaven. May this forever be the conviction of our hearts as we allow His love to lead us, sanctity, and cultivate fruit in our lives that will forever honor Him.

Affirmation: I am a royal heir and Ambassador of the Kingdom of Heaven. I will live my life as an example of His grace, mercy, and love so that others might know Him. I will surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit that I might walk in integrity, not expecting perfection but striving to honor God in all I do, accepting His grace when I fall short. May God get the glory out of my life as my King. Amen!

Question: In what ways have you continued actions or habits that don’t align with the kingdom of heaven? Where can you surrender your life to the Holy Spirit so that He can cultivate good fruit in your life? How can you boldly share your story of grace with someone in your circle of influence today?

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