Citizenship

And be not conformed to this world… Romans 12:2

We are not citizens of this world. We have become God’s people, with citizenship in a new place. And yet, our bodies, our fleshly beings, are still present in the world. Our bodies are full of worldly needs, but our spirit and our inner being longs for God. No wonder we have conflict in the world. Our own nature wars against itself. Our mind tells us that we must live our lives by the rules of this world if we are to survive and to thrive. But God tells us that we do not belong here.

When we try to fit in to this world, we find the fit is very uncomfortable. The discomfort comes because when we try to conform to the world, we deny our own true nature; we deny that our citizenship is with God. Comfort comes when we act like what we are – God’s people. This doesn’t mean that we ignore the world or pretend that we have no interaction with it. We’re here – we’re just visiting.

Acting like one of God’s citizens is a lifelong learning process. It takes us years to learn about being a citizen of America, why should we expect to be instant citizens for God? To become a knowledgeable citizen of this country we study its history, laws and customs so we can act with understanding; in other words, we read the manual, and then put it into practice. Becoming God’s citizen is no different; read the manual, God’s written Word, and then put it into practice.

Prepare for the Blessing

Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours,

even empty vessels; borrow not a few. II Kings 4:3

This woman was in need. She was in need to the point of desperation. She had no way to pay the debts left by her husband when he died. The creditors were coming to take her two sons to be servants to pay off the debt. So she appealed to the prophet Elisha. Her only resource was a small amount of oil in a pot. From this seed, Elisha found a blessing for her to pay all the debts and still have money left over.

But first, a place had to be prepared for the oil. Elisha told her to borrow all the pots and vessels she could from her neighbors. This act of believing was in direct proportion to the size of the blessing her received.

And Cornelius waited for them,

and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. Acts 10:24

Cornelius also prepared to receive a blessing. He sent his servants to invite Peter to come and preach in his household. Before Peter arrived, Cornelius was so confident of receiving a blessing that he invited his kinsmen and friends to share it. What if Peter had refused to come? What if the servants were unable to find him? But Cornelius was full of belief in the surety of the blessing, and he also made a large preparation to receive.

…prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts,

if I will not open you the windows of heaven,

and pour you out a blessing,

that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Malachi 3:10

If you ask a blessing of God, prepare to receive it. Make a place for it. Both Cornelius and the widow woman took three crucial steps in obtaining a blessing. Each first asked. The widow asked Elisha and Cornelius asked Peter. Then each prepared the place for the blessing. Finally, they each acted to reach out for the blessing and take hold of it.