Residence Visa

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ince the advent of 9/11 and the terrorist attacks on the United States, greater scrutiny has been given to all those traveling both domestically and internationally.  People coming to the United States from abroad find it more challenging to enter the country and the process of acquiring a visa has become more taxing.

I understand a little bit of this process.  In 1983, as I prepared to leave for a year-long sojourn in France, there were several things I had to do.  The most important of these was obtaining a passport and then applying for a student visa.  I obtained the passport from the American government.  However, in order to legally reside in France for a year, I had to apply for a visa from the French embassy in Washington.  Without that visa, I would be unable to stay in France legally.

When my passport arrived, I called the French embassy and obtained the necessary forms to apply for a visa. I sent my passport to the French embassy in Washington and in a few short weeks, it was returned with an official seal attached to it.  That seal gave me the legal right to stay in the country for a year.

Sound familiar?  This process of obtaining a visa has wonderful applications to our spiritual lives as well.  All around us we hear people speaking about God and in light of recent world events religion has suddenly become very popular and very “politically correct.”  However, we must have a right understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.  We have to receive him as our savior and no other.  We must carry his seal and seek permanent residence in his kingdom.  That means receiving a residence visa from God giving us the right to live in his kingdom forever.  The seal on that visa is the precious blood of Jesus Christ.  Without that seal, we have no legal right to call ourselves God’s children.

In one of his most revealing statements about God’s kingdom, Jesus addressed this very idea of legal residence.  Matthew 7:21 records a very sobering statement by our Lord and one we need to read and understand. “Not every one who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” 

In other words, Jesus was saying that the mere outward appearance of being a Christian is not enough.  All the good deeds we do, all the church services we attend, all the good intentions we have, all the nice cards and flowers we send, and all the visits we make do not make us followers of Jesus Christ.  We must have his seal of salvation upon our hearts and accept him as Lord of our lives.  This is the only way to become a child of God.

When I was in France, the outside of my passport gave the impression I was there legally.  However, the inside of the passport bore the official document and seal granting me the legal right to remain in the country, to study there, and to live there.  We must ask ourselves what we look like on the inside.  Do we bear seal of Jesus Christ on our hearts?  Do we have the legal right to live in his kingdom for all eternity?  Are we doing the will of God, serving him faithfully from our hearts?  Have we obtained our visas for permanent residence in God’s kingdom?