Richard Littledale's
Views on the News: November 2005

This month will see the launch in earnest of the Citizenship Test in the United Kingdom.

Those who have lived in this country for some time but who aspire to UK citizenship will be asked to sit a 45-minute exam, during which they will answer questions on British life, culture, politics and history. A successful pass at the examination, along with meeting the requisite standards of spoken English, will allow them to be sworn in as UK citizens.

It would be an interesting exercise to see how many current UK residents would be able to answer the questions. Those of us who were brought up with the rich history, remarkable heritage and democratic traditions of this country might be hard pushed to describe it in any detail. Rights and privileges for which others would risk their lives are merely cultural wallpaper to us. Could it be true that familiarity really does breed contempt?

Interestingly, the focus of Jesus' ministry was not just individual salvation and fulfilment, but the building of a kingdom. Every man or woman who believes in Jesus becomes a citizen of that Kingdom. Like any other kingdom it has rules and regulations, expectations and privileges. These are enjoyed now, whilst living out our lives on earth, and anticipated for later, living out our lives in heaven. Could it be that familiarity with this kind of citizenship also breeds contempt? How many citizens of this heavenly kingdom would fail the pass mark when it came to a test on their rights and privileges?

Of course, knowledge isn't everything. It is quite possible to pass the UK Citizenship Test with 100%, but still fail to fit in. This might have nothing to do with race and everything to do with individual character or personality. Equally, it is quite possible to know everything about citizenship of heaven, and yet live as if one had never heard of it! Heaven must be understood with the heart and not just the mind.

Definitions of 'an Englishman' abound, many of which could not be reproduced here in Views! Definitions of a citizen of heaven abound, too, but perhaps the best of them is a nickname. First coined within the First Century AD, the term 'Christian' was a nickname meaning 'takes after Jesus'. Are we living up to our status as citizens?