Although I was born in the United States, my story actually begins across the Pacific Ocean. My father was born and raised in Shanghai, China, brought up by godly parents in a regime hostile to their faith. As a young man, he fled Mao’s China to seek refuge and an education in the United States.
My mother hailed from Manila in the Philippines. The child of a minister, after graduating from college, she left a humble life to go to America in search of work and opportunity. These two strangers would eventually meet in the strange foreign city of Portland, Oregon.
They eventually married and, together, built a life in pursuit of the American dream. My brother and I are literally products of that dream.
The stories of my parents are similar to those of millions of others seeking hope, refuge, and opportunity in the United States of America.
In 2023, an unprecedented 10 million immigration cases were processed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. This includes benefits for employment-based visas, family-based visas, students, tourists, asylum seekers, the list goes on. All of these applicants are people pursuing what my parents sought nearly 60 years ago.
Interestingly, of these cases, 975,800 of them were applications for naturalization to United States citizenship, with all 195 countries in the world represented. These applicants not only sought a better life, but they also now want to call themselves Americans!
Being the son of immigrants and a practitioner in federal immigration law has given me a deeply personal perspective on the meaning of citizenship. There is nothing more moving than attending a naturalization ceremony. It is the formal commemoration—and transformation—of an individual not from the United States becoming a citizen of the United States.
I’ve attended dozens of these ceremonies with clients, and there is a fundamental rule among attorneys: never let your clients see you cry … unless they are becoming a U.S. citizen.
The ceremonies are wonderfully grand yet very simple. An Honor Guard presenting the colors. We recite the Pledge of Allegiance. We sing the National Anthem. There is a roll call of nations where the candidates for citizenship stand when their respective country is called.
In a room full of countless ethnicities and countries, there are no enemies. Cultures and people normally at war shake hands, laugh, and hug in friendship. Partisan differences dissolve. No one is a Republican or Democrat. The one thing they have in common is in a single moment, they will become United States citizens together.
This moment requires the statement of 140 words and takes about one minute. The candidates stand, raise their right hand, and recite the Oath of Allegiance to the United States:
“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”
The Bible makes specific reference to our heavenly citizenship. Philippians 3:20 states, Our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And Ephesians 2:19 declares, Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens … in the kingdom of God.
As an attorney, I became curious about the application criteria for becoming a citizen of the kingdom of Heaven. In conducting my legal research, I discovered that the criterion for heavenly citizenship is virtually identical to that for American citizenship—birth, naturalization, and by decree.
Citizenship by Birth
The first basis for a claim to United States citizenship is by birth: by birth to American citizen parents or by birth on American soil.
Anyone born to a parent who is an American citizen has a claim to United States citizenship, regardless of where the birth happens in the world. Similarly, anyone born on within the United States has an automatic claim to citizenship, regardless of the parents’ country of origin or nationality.
Today, public debate continues about whether the doctrine of birthright citizenship (i.e., simply being born on American soil) should be maintained or revoked. Many claim the doctrine encourages individuals to enter the United States for the express purpose of giving birth inside the United States and, therefore, have children with inherent citizenship. Unfortunately, our national polarized political discourse will not let this settled legal doctrine rest.
Scripture has a similar birth requirement for heavenly citizenship. In 1 John 3:1, we are declared God’s children: See what great love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
Further, in John 3 is the famous story of Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a legal scholar in his own right. In the dark of night, Nicodemus approaches Jesus and, essentially, asks Him about the criteria for heavenly citizenship. Jesus replies, No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again (John 3:3). Jesus then elaborates for Nicodemus that admission to the kingdom of God requires birth not of earthly flesh but of spirit.
Citizenship by Naturalization
As anyone who has applied for naturalization knows, it is a multi-step process. The applicant must first complete a 20-page form and then take the well-known citizenship test. The exam includes a series of questions to gauge English language proficiency and knowledge of American civics. Some questions include: Who is the “father of our country”? What are the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution called? What are the three branches of government? Name one U.S. territory.
In the Bible, we can find a heavenly citizenship naturalization exam administered in John 21. There, after a fruitless night fishing on the Sea of Galilee, Peter tells a stranger on the shore that there is no fish. The stranger instructs Peter to toss his net on the other side of the boat, which yields an abundance of fish. Peter realizes the stranger is Jesus, and he jumps overboard to reunite with his Master after he had denied Him thrice.
After a beach-front breakfast, Jesus then gives Peter a citizenship test of three questions—and it’s the same question: “Do you love me?” Peter answers affirmatively each time, becoming more emphatic with each question, and his heavenly citizenship is restored.
Every day, I believe God administers the same examination to affirm our heavenly citizenship. The same question is asked of us not verbally but in our daily circumstances, encounters, interactions, and conversations. Our actions and responses to these life episodes are our answers to God’s question, “Do you love me?”
Citizenship by Decree
Unknown to many, an Act of Congress can confer American citizenship. This has been done mainly for honorary recognition, most famously bestowed upon Winston Churchill and Mother Teresa. In this method, the individual simply the beneficiary of an act by the United States government; no need to complete an application, pass an exam, or take an oath. Congress simply decrees it.
In Ephesians 2:8-9, we find the decree for citizenship to the kingdom of Heaven: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
Like the 975,500 applicants for naturalization in 2023, we also seek a better life, the “heavenly dream.” As children of God—by birth, by naturalization, and by grace—may we represent and honor the significance of the meaning of being a citizen of the kingdom of Heaven. Here-in is our best worldview. May we always remember the solemn privilege of holding a passport attesting to our citizenship of our true home country above.
Andre M. Wang, Esq., serves as general counsel and PARL director for the North Pacific Union Conference. He writes from Portland, Oregon. Email him at: [email protected]