On 4th April a baby was born on a Caribbean Airlines flight from Jamaica to New York City. Even though the baby’s parents are both Jamaican, the baby (whose identity has not been publicized to protect the family’s privacy) is entitled to US citizenship, because it was born in US airspace.
When I was born in the UK I automatically got citizenship. In 1983 the rules changed so that in addition to being born in the UK babies must have at least one parent who is a British citizen or ‘settled’ in the UK. Rules vary from country to country.
People who aspire to have a particular citizenship can apply for it depending on the rules of the country. Usually they have to agree to abide by the principles and laws of that country, as a condition of citizenship.
The apostle Paul wrote this to the Christian believers at Ephesus:
‘So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God’ (Ephesians 2:19).
In this way, the true believers are described as being ‘not of the world’ but citizens of God’s Kingdom to come. In prayer to God, Jesus said this about his disciples: “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:14).
No human being acquires such divine citizenship by birth. And it does not matter where they were born, who their parents were, how rich or poor they are, how educated they are, or even what they have or have not done in the past. ‘Fellow citizens with the saints’ are people who believe, repent, are baptized and then try to follow Jesus. These criteria are the same for everybody worldwide. Jesus said:
“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).
These people are described as being ‘in Christ’, heirs of the Kingdom which God promised to those who love Him (James 2:5). They must live a different sort of life, following the divine principles set down in the Bible: ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come’ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The baby on the plane had no choice over where it was born. Nor did we have any say in our birth. But we do have the choice to be reborn by baptism, in order to belong to Jesus Christ, and thus to become citizens of God’s future Kingdom on earth. Now surely that is something worthy of our aspirations.
Anna Hart