Which is better - pilgrims for a season, citizens for a life-time or vice versa? The former, of course. The irony of this is that most people happily settle for a temporary citizenship in this world, and in the process forfeiting their citizenship in the eternal kingdom of God, all without knowing it.
For those whom the kingdom of God does not feature in the spectrum of life, citizenship in this world seems like the only and ultimate goal. It would be foolish to not to seize citizenship in this world and to live it up to one's best abilities & opportunities. Afterall, if life in this world is all there is to it, then waste no time living life from the moment your umbilical cord is cut, in as best a manner as you deem fit.
However, if this life is not our own and we owe it to God to account to Him one day, and face the possibility of being either accepted or rejected by Him, then we certainly need to revisit our life plan. Truly, if eternity is the scheme of things and God exists, then life in this world is just a phase in transition. One needs to keep the long term in view and plan towards securing citizenship in God's eternal kingdom by the time we leave this world. Otherwise, we will ultimately be pilgrims for a life-time, rejects not fit for the eternal kingdom of God.
How real is this possibility? Hebrews 11:13-16 puts it crisply and plainly:
And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Citizenship on earth or citizenship in the kingdom of God. The choice is yours.
A pilgrim on earth,
Thomas
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