Familiarity they say, breeds contempt; implying that anything (whether privilege, status, honour, gift, appointment or even peace) could be abused overtime. The reality of life is the seemly huge value mankind places on what they do not have and the low value placed on whatever is at hand. Erroneously, we prefer and pursue what others possess; and grossly disregard whatever we’re privileged to have. This anomaly has dealt a great blow on our consciousness and conscience as individuals and groups – even to the point of self denial!
The truth is clear, an average citizen of a nation in the world today, has little or no value for his or her citizenship; only to hear in the news channels that so and so numbers of immigrants have been deported. It then appears that what some have, which they hold in light esteem due to familiarity; others are praying, working hard and even dying to get. I therefore believe that if each of us can do some introspection into our recent desires of late; we would realize that we have actually been despising what we have and who we are. Maybe, many marriages are going through hell on the earth, because the couples want anything and anyone else except the man, the woman or the gifts given to them.
The title of this article is quite suggestive – I Was Born A Citizen; therefore, we will delve straight into the suggestions of the article. Firstly, the article is about birth and it’s about citizenship. As we know, the process of becoming a citizen of any nation differs and the demands or requirements varies with the safety, reputation, popularity or wealth of nations. There is citizenship by birth, which is the right of every man or woman born in a given nation – irrespective of the race, education or religion of the parents. The other processes of citizenship are the citizenship by registration andcitizenship by naturalization.
Usually, it is said that all citizens are equal; however, all nations are not equal – For some countries are larger, richer, safer, stronger and endowed than others; hence, the privileges, rights, wealth, opportunities of citizens across the world, varies with the wealth, reputation, development andendowments of the nations. Therefore, the citizens of United States of America, Singapore, Switzerland, United Arab Emirate, and Luxemburg cannot be compared in literacy, lifespan, standard of living, technological advancement, exposure and opportunities with citizens of Swaziland, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Haiti, Chile or even Greece. The point is, citizenship experiences (such as rights, privileges, opportunities and the likes) are the products of national wealth, reputation and development. That is, the parts are reflections of the sum! Individuals are reflections of the group or unit!
Prior to the days or republics or democratic governance across the world; what we had were empires – from the Babylonian to Persian & Medes to Grecians and to the Romans. All through these empires, there were citizens and there were captives (slaves or subjects).
The true privileges or rights in the empires were not for the captives; instead, they were the exclusives of their own citizens. The citizenship process was strict and difficult – only few men and women were able to earn their citizenships in those days. Thus, the easiest and the quickest way to become a citizen in those empires was citizenship by birth. Let‘s see one of the incidents of the time:
“…the commander ordered him (Paul) to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him. And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?” When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, “Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman.” Then the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” He said, “Yes.” The commander answered, “With a large sum I obtained this citizenship.” And Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.” Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.”
Acts 22:24-29
Paul had two choices – he could remain silent about his citizenship (identity) and suffer unnecessarily or he speaks out and invokes the authority and power of his Roman citizenship.
At that time, the whole world was governed by the Roman Empire; but I know that there were empires before then – however, the previous empires were removed by the succeeding empires. Since the demise of the Roman Empire; has the world been without empires? The answer is both yes and no. No because the empires of our age have left the realm of flesh and blood to spirits. Yes because everyone born into this world is a born citizen of the kingdom of satan; hence, a new baby in the world today does not work hard to lie or get angry – they are simply natural endowments!
To salvage you and I that were born sinners (rebels) of the kingdom of heaven; God sent His Son to establish a new kingdom on earth, which will translate men and women born in the kingdom of satan (darkness) into the Kingdom Christ the Son of God.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through redemption that is in Christ Jesus”
Romans 3:23-24
“He (God) has delivered us from the power (kingdom) of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love”
Colossians 1:13
All those verses of the Scriptures tell us in clear terms that our individual morality, age or sound judgment notwithstanding; anyone without the redemptive work of Christ Jesus in this age or time is currently under the power of darkness (whose kingdom rules through manipulation in ignorance). Remember, in the time of the Roman, Persian and Grecian empires; captives were originally citizens of their nation, who were made to abandon their citizenship to become slaves of the reigning kingdom. Therefore, until you accept Jesus as the redeemer of your life from the capturing kingdom of hell; you will remain a permanent slave. Hitherto, the devil had it all well in the world; oppressing mankind, killing many; but God sent His son to salvage mankind and to be the king over the salvaged in their peace and prosperity
In conclusion, do not forget the experience of Paul-for as soon as it was discovered that he was a Roman, the man that wanted to torture him, withdrew. If I may ask, is your unwillingness to become a citizen of the Kingdom of Christ Jesus, the reason for your recent tortures at work, in your family, finances, marriage, business and education? Have your life become accessible for fears, doubts, sicknesses and diseases? If what I listed has described your recent experiences; then you need to be born again-remember, you are originally born into this world in your village, town or city as a citizen of the satanic empire; you therefore need to be born again-first, to cancel the effect of the first birth in your life and destiny; second, to reposition your life and secure your royal (more than presidential) destiny in Christ Jesus.
Sometimes ago, a religious leader (like the General Overseers, Primate, Popes, Most Reverend, Chief Imam or Sheik of our days) came to Jesus at night-wanting to know the truth about life and relevance. Jesus answered him:
“…Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’
Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.”
John 3:3-5
Even as US, UK, Singapore, Luxemburg and Germany attract citizens of other nations, who are simply in a haste to obtain their own citizen; the kingdom of God is the greatest, richest, strongest, most secured and most accessible kingdom in the universe-therefore, becoming a citizen of Heaven is the wisest and easiest decision a man or woman can make while living on earth. Your life becomes secured, blessed, honored and empowered in Christ. The matter of becoming a citizen in Christ is not a religious matter; but a kingdom matter-seek the right authorities of God on earth-invite the Spirit of God into your heart; let Him come over to renew your passion and focus, let Him come over to inspire you with ideas, concepts and theories that can make your country, city and county of residence better. And as the Spirit of God does His work; allow the word of God be the guide of your life. Every kingdom or nation has both written and unwritten laws, statues and constitutions. Make every word of God in the Bible, the bedrock for your life and let your principle be offshoots of the Word of God. If you do that, in less than 24 months; your family, friends and foes will be fully convinced about your enviable life.
Please note: this is not about being religious; rather, it is about being under the right, best and legal King – Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
This article was first published on Witicles.com – http://witicles.com/i-was-born-a-citizen-103.html
