Tourist or Resident?

Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, --Philippians 3:19-20 (NIV)

My husband and I recently purchased our first home together. Although we are still in the same city as before, we are now in a part of town that we don't know very well. As a result, I feel more like a tourist than a resident whenever I'm out and about shopping for groceries and things.

This feeling of displacement was further amplified by an experience I had the other day at a local convenience store. When asked by the woman at the cash register if I would like a small bag for my purchased items I answered with a perky and polite "yes, please." The cashier laughed a bit and commented that I must be from out of town. She said that very few people in town still have the courtesy to use words like "please" and "thank you".

On my way back home I mulled over her comment and thought about how similar that attitude is to what we exhibit in every day life. Far too many of us forget that, as Christians, our true citizenship is in heaven. We assimilate into the worldly lifestyle, living for things that are entirely temporary. Our minds are focused on the mundane instead of the eternal. We find ourselves taking on the characteristics of those who do not know of a Savior. Daily we must be reminded that earth is only our temporary home. We are only passing through.

There is a pickup truck I see almost every day at work that has a particular decal attached to the window of its cab. Perhaps you've seen this popular sticker or something like it where you live. The logo is four letters long-NOTW--which stands for "Not of This World." Whenever I see it I am reminded that because I belong to Christ, my citizenship is with Him in heaven and not of this world. I hope that at all times,I do not lose sight of where my true residence lies. Even more so, I hope that my actions and words reflect this to those who consider themselves locals here on earth.