A Kingdom Greater Than Our Country…
George Schultz was Secretary of State during the Reagan administration. He kept a large globe in his office. When newly appointed ambassadors had an interview with him, and when ambassadors returning from their posts for their first visit with him were leaving his office, Shultz would test them. He would say, "You have to go over to the globe and prove to me that you can identify your country." They would go over, spin the globe, and put their finger on the country to which they were sent--unerringly.
When Shultz's old friend and former Senate majority leader Mike Mansfield was appointed ambassador to Japan, even he was put to the test. This time, however, Ambassador Mansfield spun the globe and put his hand on the United States. He said, "That's my country."
On June 27, 1993, Shultz related this to Brian Lamb on C-Span's "Booknotes." Said the secretary: "I've told that story, subsequently, to all the ambassadors going out. 'Never forget you're over there in that country, but your country is the United States. You're there to represent us. Take care of our interests and never forget it, and you're representing the best country in the world.' "
I can imagine Jesus saying to all believers, “Never forget you are in this world, but your true home is in my Kingdom. You are in this world to represent me. Take care of my interests and never forget you are representing my Kingdom, that is the best way for people to live.”
Those of us who follow Jesus are citizens of a Kingdom that never ends. We have been made into ambassadors for our King, to tell people that a different way of living exists. A verse I learned as a child was written by Paul: “Now we are ambassadors for Christ.”
Here’s the funny thing: we’ve never been to our Kingdom, to our true home. That’s where faith comes in. Blind faith is not required, for there are signs of the Kingdom all around us. What are the signs of the Kingdom? Changed lives. A deep joy that comes from being forgiven. A profound peace of knowing God is at work in your life. All our fears and all that would destroy us have been destroyed by our King.
Jesus told us that in his Father’s house there would be many rooms, and he was going to prepare a place for us. Based on all I know about heaven, it is the space where God’s rule is recognized by all, and everyone lives by the values taught by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. We often think of heaven in individualist terms. We claim that we will not feel pain, we will not cry, we will not mourn. But heaven is also the place of perfect community. Imagine living where there is no hate, no deceit, no lust, or adultery. Imagine living where people love each other, where everyone gets along. In heaven, you are not the star; we will worship our Heavenly Father with great joy. This is why Dallas Willard says, “Heaven is for those who can stand it.” He means if you are not very interested in the way of Jesus on this earth, you will be very uncomfortable in heaven.
Obviously, I have not been to heaven. But my time on earth is to prepare me for my eternal existence. This is my time to learn the ways of Jesus. On earth, I will face many temptations to follow a different way. It seems easier, more comfortable. But Jesus told me (and you), “Broad is the way that leads to destruction, but narrow is the way that leads to eternal life.”
As the Fourth of July approaches, for Jesus followers, it is a time to remember we do not point to a map of the United States and say, “This is my home.” The United States is my country, but my home is in heaven. While I am here, my job is to represent my Lord, my Leader, to learn to be like him in every way, to get ready for that day when I shall see him face to face. As the old hymn says, “What a day of rejoicing that will be; when we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory.”