I was going through airport security in Mexico last week and the woman who scanned my password looked at me, then my passport, then back up at me. She looked me up and down with cold eyes, and the authority of whether or not I could pass through appeared to be in her hands. Her hesitation made me think, “Oh no…I am going to be found out.” I smiled big just to look inconspicuous and then wondered if that made it worse. Was I trying too hard? What if she discovered I was a fake, a terrorist and capable of major harm to others. Could she see it?

Sometimes that is how I feel around people. I falsely place the truth of my identity in the hands of others. I shake in my bones at their scrutinizing glances and pray they will give me a pass when all along, I am approved. The truth in the security of my identity is in the seal on my passport, not their opinion. When held up to the LIGHT, the seal is authentic because of the authority of who stamped it. I am a citizen of heaven. I have nothing to fear because the seal of the Living God is on me. My identity is in Him, approved, accepted, true.

Sometimes people in the church can act like airport security people scrutinizing people’s outer appearance and wondering if they belong. But Jesus pursued the foreigner and the outsider and brought them in. His grace is sufficient. And those in the judgement seat are often the ones who most need to see its extravagance.

When judged, may we remember our security in the seal of the Living God and our citizenship in heaven – and through the power of the Holy Spirit, extend grace. And when we find ourselves in a place where people are entering, may we remember to offer them a welcoming smile and tell them to have a wonderful trip home.

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” Philippians 3:20 NIV

“He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit…” 2 Corinthians 1:22 NIV