By Gary Chang
People often ask me where I come from. I grew up in Taiwan. My nationality was New Zealand, and now I live in Japan, but the country where I have lived the longest (among all the places I have lived in) is the United States. Thankfully, I was finally naturalized in September (2021) and became a US citizen.
Some people asked why I became a US citizen.
One of the primary reasons is for the sake of a long-term mission. After becoming American citizens, we can enter and leave the United States freely. We are no longer restricted to leave the United States for a short period. Among missionaries, the question changes from, “Where do you come from?” to “What is your passport country?” Many missionaries’ nationality and their ethnicity and/or serving country are all different.
For example, I met a Korean who serves in Indonesia, but he holds a US passport. Why it is hard for me to answer this question?
Because I have three citizenships. Where is my home? I have no idea.
“Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,” (Philippians 3:20)
Philippians 3:20 is a good reminder for people who are not settling in any place that our eternal citizenship is in heaven. We are citizens of heaven. This world is temporal, and we are all foreigners, sojourners. As Christians, we know our life purpose is to live for Jesus.
How do we live for the Lord in this short-amount of time? This is a constant conversation we have with the Lord. May God lead us and find us faithful in the calling that He gave us. Let us run and desire for the heavenly home, and let us delight on the day when we can see our Savior face-to-face!
Discussion:
In the comments and/or in your social media, answer one or both questions.
- How are you making the most of your home here on earth? Are you living for the Lord? Or is this a conversation you are wrestling with in your prayers? What is God asking you to do, and what keeps you from saying, “yes”?
- If you are a naturalized US citizen or on the way to become one, share a good memory from the country you came from. Help us understand and learn a little of your journey.
Resources:
- Talk to someone about going to a different country as a missionary. Click here to complete the form to talk to someone.
- Explore different ministry opportunities by clicking here.
- Pray for a missionary. Click here to submit a prayer request.
- Learn about or support Gary and Jennifer Chang by clicking here.