Since 1966 I have been a man without a country!
I came to the United States to attend college in 1963 and I met Carol, my future wife on campus. We married in 1965 and in 1966 I received my permanent resident visa to live and work in the U.S. I have actually not lived in Canada since I left home to attend college.
I kept my Canadian citizenship because during the 70’s and 80’s it was easier to travel internationally on a Canadian passport than it was on an American passport. This was the era of “the ugly American.”
During the 90’s and up until last year I simply did what comes so easily to me, I procrastinated. In my heart I knew I was not going to return to Canada to live but when it came to going through the process of becoming an American citizen, well, I just put it off. “I’ll do that tomorrow,” I told myself, and as a song so appropriately says, “Tomorrow never comes!”
For the last couple of years I have watched the rise and fall of the tide of concern about the porous borders of the United States. Sentiment toward immigrants, both legal and illegal, has taken some strange turns. When I was granted permanent entrance into the U.S. in 1966, there was no such thing as a quota from Canada. If you could qualify, you were granted a visa. Today that’s not true; there is a much narrower window through which people can apply. I predict that as the border and illegal immigration issue continues to heat up, and it will, so will the matter of legal immigration and who qualifies and who doesn’t. I believe that along with the heated rhetoric about illegal immigrants will come attempts to have some legal immigrants removed. Legal immigrants who have resident alien visas do not have the same protection or rights as citizens. I predict that some right-wing nut cases will try to find ways to remove whole segments of legal immigrants from the U.S. Just a thought…and worth watching!
I applied for my citizenship in July of 2007 and the process sailed through like the proverbial hot knife through butter. It was not a painful process at all, at least for me! I was notified that I would have my final interview on Tuesday morning, January 22, 2008. As I sat with the INS agent and provided the final documents and answered basic civics questions, he looked at me, smiled, and said, “We have a swearing-in ceremony at 2:15 this afternoon; would you like to become a citizen at that time?” It took me about one millionth of a second to answer, “Absolutely!”
And so on January 22, 2008, at roughly 2:45 PM, with my wife and daughters at my side, I proudly took the Oath of Allegiance and became a citizen of the United States of America.
I am no longer a man without a country!
I came to the United States to attend college in 1963 and I met Carol, my future wife on campus. We married in 1965 and in 1966 I received my permanent resident visa to live and work in the U.S. I have actually not lived in Canada since I left home to attend college.
I kept my Canadian citizenship because during the 70’s and 80’s it was easier to travel internationally on a Canadian passport than it was on an American passport. This was the era of “the ugly American.”
During the 90’s and up until last year I simply did what comes so easily to me, I procrastinated. In my heart I knew I was not going to return to Canada to live but when it came to going through the process of becoming an American citizen, well, I just put it off. “I’ll do that tomorrow,” I told myself, and as a song so appropriately says, “Tomorrow never comes!”
For the last couple of years I have watched the rise and fall of the tide of concern about the porous borders of the United States. Sentiment toward immigrants, both legal and illegal, has taken some strange turns. When I was granted permanent entrance into the U.S. in 1966, there was no such thing as a quota from Canada. If you could qualify, you were granted a visa. Today that’s not true; there is a much narrower window through which people can apply. I predict that as the border and illegal immigration issue continues to heat up, and it will, so will the matter of legal immigration and who qualifies and who doesn’t. I believe that along with the heated rhetoric about illegal immigrants will come attempts to have some legal immigrants removed. Legal immigrants who have resident alien visas do not have the same protection or rights as citizens. I predict that some right-wing nut cases will try to find ways to remove whole segments of legal immigrants from the U.S. Just a thought…and worth watching!
I applied for my citizenship in July of 2007 and the process sailed through like the proverbial hot knife through butter. It was not a painful process at all, at least for me! I was notified that I would have my final interview on Tuesday morning, January 22, 2008. As I sat with the INS agent and provided the final documents and answered basic civics questions, he looked at me, smiled, and said, “We have a swearing-in ceremony at 2:15 this afternoon; would you like to become a citizen at that time?” It took me about one millionth of a second to answer, “Absolutely!”
And so on January 22, 2008, at roughly 2:45 PM, with my wife and daughters at my side, I proudly took the Oath of Allegiance and became a citizen of the United States of America.
I am no longer a man without a country!
For all these years I looked like an American, I spoke like an American (I dropped the very Canadian verbal punctuation of “Eh” a long time ago), and my family is as American as apple pie. But I was not an American. I became a citizen when I met the requirements and went through the Oath of Allegiance ceremony.
It is sad to realize how many people attend church today but are not citizens of the Kingdom; they have not gone through the Oath of Allegiance ceremony. They look like Christians, they talk like Christians, and they largely live like Christians, but they have never asked for citizenship. “I’ll deal with that tomorrow,” they think. Sadly, they are people without a country.
I know that the story of my journey to citizenship is not a perfect analogy of the spiritual condition of many in the church today. There are many people, however, who plan to give their lives to God—someday—and become citizens of the Kingdom. Many procrastinate by saying that this is just not the most convenient time. Let me say it plainly for any of you who might think like that: A more convenient time very likely will never come. You have no guarantee of being alive tomorrow!
When Nicodemus came to Jesus in John 3, he was a leading ruler of the Pharisees. He approached Jesus secretly at night and acknowledged that he knew that Jesus was a teacher sent by God. He further recognized that the miracles Jesus performed were a clear sign that God was with him” (see John 3:1-2).
I think Jesus knew that Nicodemus was putting off making a commitment. Nicodemus had made a move toward Jesus but like so many, he was pulling up short of taking the “Oath of Allegiance.” So Jesus cut right to the chase and nailed Nicodemus with, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
Our citizenship in God’s Kingdom is established when we receive Jesus Christ, by faith, into our hearts as our Lord and Savior. It is like taking an Oath of Allegiance.
This is no time to be a man or woman without a country! Now is the hour; now is the time; there will never be a better time than right now to become a citizen of the Kingdom.
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