We are being prepared for a kingdom

Imagine being invited to live permanently in another country. Before you go, you would probably learn something about that country’s language, laws, customs and culture. You would want to understand how people live. You would want to know what is expected. You would prepare. Why? Because you are not merely visiting. You are becoming part of another society. The Christian is being prepared for something far greater. We are being prepared for the kingdom of God.

Abraham: looking for a better country

Hebrews says that this is how Abraham and the other faithful people of the old covenant lived. They did not settle into the country they travelled through:

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

They were not living with one foot in the world and one in heaven. They were looking ahead:

But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

Notice the second sentence. God is not ashamed to be called their God. Their lives had been shaped by their destination. Abraham “waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10), and in the meantime he lived as someone who belonged elsewhere. That is preparation for a kingdom.

The culture of heaven

What is the culture of heaven? Jesus gave us the answer. Love. Service. Humility. Purity. Truth. Faithfulness. Mercy. Forgiveness. Obedience. Selflessness. These qualities are not foreign to heaven. They are its language. They are its culture. They describe the character of its King. Therefore, when God develops these qualities in us now, He is not imposing something foreign upon us. He is preparing us for our eternal home. Paul says that the Father “has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light” (Colossians 1:12). He is the One who qualifies us, and He does it by delivering us “from the power of darkness” and conveying us “into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:13).

Paul also reminds the Philippians that their citizenship has already changed: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). A citizen of one country who lives in another is expected to carry the character of home.

The new commandment

On the night before the cross, Jesus gave His disciples what He called a new commandment:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

The standard is not merely, “Love one another.” It is: love one another as I have loved you. That is much higher. Christlike love. Selfless love. Sacrificial love. A love that serves. A love that forgives. A love that seeks another person’s good. This is the kind of character God wants to develop in His people. And He adds the purpose: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). The kingdom’s culture is meant to be visible now.