Musical Notes

Hello OCBC family,

I want to share two passages with you.  First, Philippians 3:20-21, “But our citizenship is in heaven.  And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (NIV).  Also, Revelation 7:9-10 says, “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.  They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.  And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb’.” (NIV).

These verses are a beautiful image and somewhat similar to something that I witnessed last week.  On Thursday, my family and I had the honor of attending my niece’s citizenship ceremony. She was sworn in as a new American citizen, and our family was very proud of her.  I would like to share with you what happened that day.

My niece arrived early in the morning and they took her into a room to give her some instructions, and to sign official documents while we (the family) waited outside.  A couple of hours passed and then an officer invited us to go to see the ceremony.  The candidates for citizenship were there in the center of the main room, and families and relatives were around them.  At some point of the ceremony, they called the different countries that were represented in the room.  We heard  Ecuador, El Salvador, Egypt, Mexico, China, and others.  Then, all of the candidates stood up and made a solemn oath to love and defend their new country, followed by a video of the president of the United States welcoming the new citizens.

Then I thought about how some day that will happen to me and to every believer who trusted in the Lord Jesus as Savior.  My niece, in the small room before the ceremony, was at that point an American citizen on paper.  As Christians, we are citizens of heaven, we have our papers in order, and Jesus signed our certificate already, what a blessing!  But, one day, like my niece in the center of the room with witnesses around her, we will be in a special room with the King of Kings welcoming us to our new country, with millions of believers greeting us because we have finally arrived home.

Remember, we are in this world just as pilgrims; home is waiting for us.

In His service,

Israel