Thoughts on Citizenship

Ephesians 2:17-19

17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,

Today as you read this, I am privileged to be leading a team of Asbury students to Haiti on a missions trip. As I collected the team's passports to make copies I began to think about how blessed we are to be American citizens. We have the freedom to come and go from our country at will, and with a relatively few exceptions, can simply show our passport and be welcomed into other countries around the world. With our citizenship comes the right to free speech and freedom of religion. I can write my thoughts here in this public forum without any fear of government interference or censorship (not to mention punishment).

As soon as we moved through passport control at Dulles Airport (in Washington DC) with our newly adopted children, they became American citizens as well! Neither of them will remember this milestone, but Cydil and I sure do. It was the second public marker that signaled that they belonged with us. We shared a name, and now we shared a citizenship! Ellie and Reni are "no longer foreigners and strangers" they are "fellow citizens"! I plan on writing some thoughts about the difference between history and heritage in a future post, but I believe an overemphasis on my son and daughter's Albanian history could unintentionally foster the feeling of being a stranger/foreigner in their own family. They are more than exchange students living with us in here in Kentucky. They are citizens along with Cydil and I and members of our household! Their heritage now is as a Waggoner! I don't want to minimize their Albanian history either. We truly feel that the country of Albania has given us priceless gifts in our children and we will forever be connected with the country in a special way because of them.

As we traveled in Albania this summer finalizing Reni's adoption, Elisona found a special place in the hearts of all who met her. Some would pinch her cheeks, and she was given more than one special treat by our Albanian hosts. She actually learned to eat ice cream bars in Albania because of these gifts. Some people we met didn't believe she was ethnically Albanian because of her dress, glasses, and hair cut, but there was one common statement we heard over and over, "She is so lucky to be an American now!" There is something about the word 'lucky' that doesn't sit well with me, so I usually responded with "We are so blessed to have her in our family!" And then would share how glad we were for the chance to bring her back to Albania and introduce her to our Albanian friends. Many of these good friends would love to travel the world, but because their citizenship is Albanian and their passport happens to be red and not blue, they face much greater hurdles in travel. They saw the freedom that Ellie enjoyed and while I would have used the word 'blessed,' they were right. She is lucky to be an American now! She didn't 'earn' her citizenship, it was granted to her as she became a member of the Waggoner household.

Ellie is having her hand kissed by grandma while being offered flowers from two different friends.

Even though sharing a citizenship of the United States of America is great, it is nothing in comparison to the citizenship I pray both Ellie and Reni will share with us some day. It's another citizenship that can't be earned, but will be granted by being included in the Father's household. This citizenship also gives us an heritage that outweighs our history. And no one knows freedom like the one set fee by Christ! This is the hope we take to Haiti with us, and this is the citizenship that unites us to our friends in Albania. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all "no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household."