But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:20 NIV).
The wellness of the citizens is the pride and glory of their king. This notion is a key metric in the ranking of a sovereign ruler. The care of the people is the primary concern of a leader; the quality of life within the community is the square basis for determining the competence and aptitude of the king.
The Bible aptly illustrated this notion as the reaction of a king was noted when he heard the deplorable state of his citizenry due to famine in the land. According to the account, “There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels[a] of silver, and a quarter of a cab[b] of seed pods[c] for five shekels. As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, “Help me, my lord the king!” The king replied, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?” Then he asked her, “What’s the matter?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ So, we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him.” When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and they saw that, under his robes, he had sackcloth on his body.” (2 Kings 6: 25-30 (NIV).
Note the reaction of the king to the words of the aggrieved woman, “he tore his robes…and had sackcloth on his body”. Sackcloth is an attire worn for mourning or humiliation. It is worn to mourn or grieve over distressing situation of shame or humiliation. In the reference case, the king of Israel was distressed and humiliated because of the situation of his people, he mourned over his humiliating helplessness to relieve and care for his people; the famine was very severe; he lamented; “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?”.
Beloved, this account well describes the general feeling and attitude of sovereigns concerning the care and wellness of their citizenry including the Kingdom of God. God delights and cares for His people and He is glorified by the wellness of His people.
Psalm 104 describes the eminent provision and care of God for the earth; it says, “O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches…I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” (Psalm 104:24,33 KJV). The abundance of earth’s riches glorifies God. We need to be aware of this blessed truth and therefore commit our case and course to God.
About God’s Kingdom citizens, the Bible says, “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ”; note the blessing of Heaven’s citizenship is to “await a Savior from there”. We look to Heaven, from whence we derive our citizenship to send us help from dire and awful situation; we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ who has Power which enables Him even to subject everything to Himself (Phil. 3:20-21). We have a Savior who has power to direct, control or influence all things…in our favor. Praise the Lord!