6.18.24
This week we are looking at the author’s description of the tale of two cities. The city of man is the dog-eat-dog world of selfishness in which we live. And the city of God is the new society that is coming, where justice and sacrificial service will prevail. But all this is given in the context of how to stand in the midst of challenging circumstances and hardships. So how does knowing this have any bearing on being able to not give up when life starts to fall apart?
The key comes by seeing that - though we are certainly tied to this world as the place in which we live - our citizenship belongs elsewhere. And what does that mean? It means that we are aliens in this world and we will never fit in - life will never produce what we desire - the desires of our hearts will always fall short.
Every person who belongs to the kingdom of God senses a deep dissonance in their heart from that culture. It doesn’t matter who is in the White House or which team wins the pennant. It doesn’t matter whether you live under an oppressive communist regime or the freedom of a republic. It doesn’t matter how much money or influence you have. We will never feel at home here. This world can never satisfy the desires of our hearts. Our longings and passions can only be satisfied in a world where our true citizenship lies.
And so the writer here calls us to “bear the disgrace” of this world. Why? Because we don’t have an enduring city here. The joys we lose and the longings we fail to receive are a disgrace that we are willing to bear, because our citizenship - our real hopes - are found in a lasting city that is yet to come. And to a world that only understands a citizenship here, the path to happiness…and the avoidance of pain and hardship…take on a different perspective. For those who are citizens of this city of man, there is a desperation to find what little joys this life can offer. And the obstacles that threaten to keep them from the outcomes that they desire create a frantic panic in the midst of the trials of life.
All this is a good and convicting reminder that when we start to panic over the challenges to our plans - when the longings for joy and happiness that we have been pursuing are threatened and we start to freak out, God is calling us to remember our true citizenship. And he’s reminding us that as citizens of another city, we will always have to bear the disgrace of life not going the way we want. And we can handle it because we know that the city we were designed for is yet to come. We know that there truly is a place where all our longings for joy and peace and significance will find their ultimate satisfaction.