Live Like a Citizen of Heaven

Jesus’ most famous teaching, often called the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), was challenging and confusing. Early hearers would have wrestled with it, wondering what the teaching means and how to apply it. Jesus’ words remind us we are invited to live within a Heavenly Kingdom, here and now. But what is this Kingdom? How are we able to see and live into it?

For modern Bible readers, words like kingdom and empire can often feel irrelevant or distant. Why did Jesus choose this language? His first hearers, Jewish people living under Roman occupation, would have intimately understood this frame and reference.

The Roman Empire was its own religion. To be Roman was to have Roman identity, follow Roman laws, and worship Ceasar. To be under Roman occupation meant conforming to the ways and values of Rome, often under the threat of violence and Rome’s powerful military.

Jesus offers an alternative- God’s upside-down Kingdom. In God’s Kingdom, love, humility, mercy, and peace are valued. We are invited to draw near to, and worship, an ever-present and loving God. We are invited to claim identity as citizens of Heaven (Philippians 3:20).
This Heavenly citizenship isn’t just about what we do. It’s also about the way we do it.

Jesus often taught about the Kingdom of God. When Jesus spoke of God’s Kingdom, He wasn’t referring to a far-off place in the clouds. This Kingdom isn’t something we wait for after death—it’s here now, breaking into the world through Jesus.

The Kingdom is the presence of God in you, through you, and all around you. It is something we live into now, and something we have great hope for. How do we begin to see and live into the values, methods, and call of the Kingdom of Heaven?

In John 3, we meet Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a respected scholar, a member of the Jewish ruling council, and an expert in religious law. Jesus’ words filled him with questions he couldn’t shake. One night, under the cover of darkness, Nicodemus came to Jesus searching for answers.

He opened with words of respect: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:2). Before Nicodemus could finish, Jesus gave him a startling response: “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3).

The phrase "born again" can be confusing. For many, it’s thought of as a one-time decision or a prayer that guarantees entry into Heaven. Spiritual rebirth, or being born again, is a transformative process. It begins the moment we surrender to Jesus and continues throughout our lives as we follow Him.

Jesus explained: “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:6). In other words, physical birth gives us physical life, and spiritual rebirth gives us the ability to see and live in God’s Kingdom. Like the disciples, we are conformed to God’s Kingdom as we follow Jesus and learn from Him.

Aligning our hearts and lives with God’s Kingdom requires submitting ourselves to a transformative process. Three things can help us on our journey:

1. A Teachable Spirit: To grow spiritually, we must remain open to learning and change. Faith is not about worshipping the idol of certainty or clinging to answers that make us feel secure. Faith often requires us to embrace the unknown and what God may want to teach us. Jesus asked his disciples to be teachable- to learn as they followed Him. He didn’t hand them a rulebook; He invited them on a journey of discovery. Over time, as they walked with Him, their understanding of God’s Kingdom deepened.
2. Humility: The world celebrates strength and self-sufficiency. Jesus taught that true greatness comes in laying aside our power, surrendering to God, and working for peace. He said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Humility allows us to admit our need for God and open our hearts to what He wants to do in and through us. Humility invites us to release our need for control and begin to wonder what it means to live as a local chapter in the Jesus movement.
   
3. Trust in the Process: Spiritual transformation is an ongoing process. As we follow Jesus and learn from Him, God’s Spirit reshapes our hearts and minds. Though we may feel regret or anxiety about our journey and pace, God is patient and loving.

Nicodemus came to Jesus seeking answers, but he left with an invitation—to see and enter God’s Kingdom through spiritual rebirth. That same invitation is extended to us today.

So, what does this mean for you? Maybe you’ve been following Jesus for years, or maybe you’re just beginning to explore what faith looks like. Wherever you are, Jesus is with you and inviting you to follow Him, learn from Him, and live like a citizen of Heaven.