"If they had been thinking with [homesick] remembrance of that country from which they were emigrants, they would have found constant opportunity to return to it.
But the truth is that they were yearning for and aspiring to a better and more desirable country, that is, a heavenly [one]. For that reason God is not ashamed to be called their God [even to be surnamed their God--the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob], for He has prepared a city for them" (Hebrews 11:15-16).
A fundamental principles of the Christian faith is that even though we
This should not come as a surprise because the kingdom we are called to be a part of is the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven. This principle has been there even in the Old Testament where we see the
Patriarchs of old longing for a 'heavenly' city. And when Jesus Christ came, He made
it clear that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36).
Therefore, if the kingdom of God would be actualised in a believer, his focus in life must be heavenly.
But you could have a heavenly focus and yet miss out on the kingdom.
Thinking and talking about heaven all the time would not be enough to get you there. For example, Moses was well focused on the Promised Land, a type of heaven, but he did not get there. Terah set out with a focus on Canaan but got to Haran and settled down
(Genesis 11:31-32).
Lot's wife began the race out of Sodom with a focus on the land of her deliverance, but she looked back and never got to her
destination.
There are many Christians who talk about heaven, sing about heaven, act and watch films about heaven, giving us an all round
impression that they have a heavenly focus. Yet their body language is grossly earthy, being so taken in by earthly things like Terah and Lot's wife.
They are so comfortable in such environments that do not remind them of their chosen focus and they think nothing of hanging out with friends who don't propel them towards their divine destination. For some others, their lives are full of anger like Moses and they are without any strong commitment to manage their emotional weakness. They fail to mortify their members that are on the earth as required by the Scriptures and refuse to cut off from them those things that are causing them to sin (Colossians 3:5-8).
So friends, what are the things you need to cut off so that you may ultimately have some fruits to show for your heavenly focus? I know that cutting certain things off could be either painful or difficult, but if you are serious about the kingdom, if your desire for the kingdom to come in your life is genuine, now is the time to cut off whatever could cut you out of the kingdom or cut short your fruits in the kingdom. As you enter a new phase of life, do so with a commitment to labour in the direction of the heavenly focus you have chosen. If you have a heavenly focus and you work towards it, the Bible says God will not be ashamed to be called your God, and He will be much more committed to helping you make it.
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