Legal Aliens by Brian Turner

By Brian Turner
United States citizenship comes with many freedoms. These benefits include: The Freedom to Life. The Freedom to Hold Property. The Freedom to Liberty. The Pursuit of Happiness. The Freedom to Worship. These freedoms are not earned. They naturally follow from being a United States citizen. If someone is born in the United States, these benefits come with birth. A person is born into these freedoms. If someone legally migrates to the U.S., the individual must meet certain requirements in order to become a citizen; however, after obtaining citizenship, there is nothing the person must do to earn the benefits of being a United States citizen.
 
 
 
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United States citizenship comes with many freedoms. These benefits include:
 
The Freedom to Life
The Freedom to Hold Property
The Freedom to Liberty
The Pursuit of Happiness
The Freedom to Worship
 
These freedoms are not earned. They naturally follow from being a United States citizen. If someone is born in the United States, these benefits come with birth. A person is born into these freedoms. If someone legally migrates to the U.S., the individual must meet certain requirements in order to become a citizen; however, after obtaining citizenship, there is nothing the person must do to earn the benefits of being a United States citizen.
 
There is an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States. There is a lot of animosity in the U.S. because of this reality. Why? The angst is due to the illegal immigrants experiencing the freedoms of United States citizenship without actually being a citizen. The immigrants have come in order to pursue life, liberty, and happiness; however, they are undocumented and illegal. The law states illegal immigrants should not experience the benefits of a natural citizen.
 
Yet, there is one group of the United States population that is overlooked. They are legal aliens. This is a term I use to refer to United States citizens who have full citizenship and the benefits of citizenship, but they do not exercise those opportunities. They are legal, but they do not try to pursue the life, liberty, and happiness their citizenship gives. Legal aliens have what immigrants are longing for and many are working to obtain, but they are indifferent to their freedoms. Their lives are apathetic toward the gifts of citizenship.
 
United States citizenship is a gift. Of course, I am speaking in general terms. There are citizens who have been born into abject poverty who cannot exercise their freedoms as equally as others born into wealthier conditions. But ideally, citizenship is a gift, but that gift must be embraced and lived out. Freedom is given, but one must exercise that freedom or else succumb to the life of being a legal alien.
 
The tragedy is that being a legal alien is a waste of life. It is a life to be ashamed of.
 
It is like being Mozart but not composing music.
It is like being Van Gogh but not painting.
It is like being Albert Einstein without Relativity.
It is like being Bill Gates without Microsoft.
It is like being Steve Jobs without Apple.
It is like Prince without Purple Rain.
 
It is like peanut butter without jelly, the beach without the ocean, driving while lost.
It is like making a career of being a professional student.
It is like a writer making an endless list of similes.
 
What's the point?
 
Can you feel the emptiness? The void? The waste? It is a life not worth living. It is deeply distressing.
 
Which Brings Me to Paul the Apostle
 
Paul was traveling with Silas and Timothy. They were having a good time telling the Good News until they reached Thessalonica. At Thessalonica, there were some people who did not think the Good News was so good. They began accusing Paul, Silas, and Timothy of disturbing the peace. Through a series of unfortunate events, they basically ran Paul's posse out of town.
 
They then traveled to Borea. Again, they began telling the Good News. The people of Borea were more welcoming; however, the opposition from Thessalonica heard Paul, Silas, and Timothy were in Borea. So they took it upon themselves to go to Borea. There they stirred up the crowds against Paul. The people of Borea escorted Paul to Athens for his safety, while Silas and Timothy stayed behind.
 
In Athens, Paul did what anyone who visited Athens would do. He went sightseeing. As he was touring the city, he discovered the city was flooded with idols. According to some scholars, there were approximately 30,000 idols in Athens!  Because of this, there was an ancient saying about Athens: It is easier to find a god in Athens than a man. All these idols disturbed Paul. Actually, the ancient Greek word for Paul's distress was paroxysmos. The English word paroxysm derives from this word. It means to have convulsions or an outburst of emotion.
 
Have you ever drank something that went down the wrong pipe? Instead of going down the esophagus, your drink flooded your trachea. Then you went into an uncontrollable coughing fit as your body expelled the liquid from your lungs. This was a paroxysm. Your drink went somewhere it should not, and your body reacts spontaneously beyond your control to rid your lungs of the liquid.
 
Have you ever witnessed something and you cried uncontrollably? That was a paroxysm. Or maybe you saw your overly confident sibling who always picks on you lean too far backward in a chair and fall over. You laughed uncontrollably. You were experiencing a paroxysm. You had an outburst of emotion you did not intend but enjoyed immensely under the circumstance. When your sibling looked up at you embarrassed, you were telling the truth when you said, "I didn't mean to laugh" as you crossed your fingers.
 
In some form or another, we have all experienced a paroxysm.
 
Paul experienced this when he saw the idols that filled Athens. He had a paroxysm of emotion. He was disturbed. He became distressed. Yet, it was not negative. It was positive. His paroxysm was a paroxysm of compassion. He was moved spontaneously and uncontrollably in his gut. Paul had to act on his compassion.
 
Inspired by the innumerable idols of Athens, Paul began telling people in the synagogue the Good News. He even went as far as talking to people daily in the marketplace about the Good News. There he met Epicureans and Stoics. These were the philosophers and wisdom teachers of Athens. They called Paul an amateur and a teacher of foreign gods, which is quite an interesting accusation. How can a people living in a city with 30,000 idols accuse anyone of teaching about foreign gods? How do you keep up with 30,000 idols in such a way as to know that a person is or is not teaching about one of them? Is there a list or a database? Besides, how can there be more gods than 30,000. Shouldn't 30,000 cover the gamut?
 
This accusation seems suspect. There must be more going on here.
 
So they take Paul into custody and brought him to Mars Hill. This hill in Greek is called the Areopagus. On this hill, the ruling council of elders of Athens would meet to make decisions and hold court. After taking control of the city, the Romans named the hill Mars Hill after the Roman God of war named Mars. During Paul's time, philosophers and wisdom teachers met on this hill to discuss their teachings.
 
This brings us to why Paul was taken into custody. He was taken to Mars Hill before the philosophers and wisdom teachers of Athens. These were people who were proud of their former citizens: Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, and Sophocles. This city was rich in philosophy and wisdom. They were the best, and they wanted to hear more of Paul's teaching. As the book of Acts records, "...all Athenians as well as the foreigners who live in Athens used to spend their time doing nothing but talking about or listening to the newest thing" (Acts 17:21).
 
Athenians at Heart
 
For the Athenians, hearing the newest teaching was like getting the latest iPhone. It was like downloading the newest album from your favorite artist. It was like watching the latest release of a Netflix original, or watching the newest episode of The Walking Dead. Or tasting your favorite Starbucks flavor you have been waiting anxiously to enjoy since the fall of last year. Seems like nothing much has changed. We are all Athenians at heart.
 
Anyway, back to Paul. The philosophers and teachers on Mars Hill are waiting on the edge of their seats to hear what he has to say. Their mouths are salivating. Their pupils are wide. And Paul begins to speak...
 
"People of Athens, I see that you are very religious in every way" (Acts 17:22). Stop! Wait! Hold up! Do not get all self-righteous and point your finger at the Athenians thinking Paul is giving them a tongue-lashing. He is giving them a compliment. Paul is appealing to their culture. He is telling them they are good citizens of Athens. It is like being thanked for being a hardworking, tax paying, patriot. It was like getting a pat on the back from your employer for a job well done whom you thought was out to terminate you. Paul was encouraging them.
 
Paul continues, "As I was walking through town and carefully observing your objects of worship. I even found an altar with this inscription: 'To an unknown God.' What you worship as unknown, I now proclaim to you" (Acts 17:23). What? The Athenians had 30,000 idols, but just to make sure they did not leave out any god whom they may anger, they constructed an altar to an unknown God. Talk about being spiritually paranoid. They were practically OCD with idol making.
 
But Paul uses their obsessiveness as a bridge. Paul does not condemn them. This is proof he is operating from his paroxysm of compassion. Paul took the time to get to know the Athenians and their culture. Then he began telling them the Good News. Compassionately, Paul used their culture and their religion to talk about the Good News. He did not tell them they were wrong. He actually told them they were worshiping the God he was teaching about. Of course, Paul teaches about their unknown God in a way that was fresh, new, and compelling to them. He was giving them a better way of thinking about the unknown God. Paul attempted to give them an upgrade.
 
Supreme God
 
He begins the upgrade by saying, "God, who made the world and everything in it, is Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn't live in temples made with human hands" (Acts 17:23). To us this is not much of a new thing, but to the ancient world this was huge. Paul is telling them the unknown God they worshiped is supreme. This God has created everything by himself without the help of any other gods. This God is Lord over all. He does not live in temples because no temple can contain him. This unknown God transcends all the other 29,999 gods in Athens. Paul's teaching was fresh, new, and mind blowing. There was no more need for spiritual paranoia. There is only one true God. This was a real upgrade.
 
Then Paul steps it up a notch, "Nor is God served by human hands, as though he needed something, since he is the one who gives life, breath, and everything else" (Acts 17:25). Wait, say what? This is what the Athenians were asking. "You mean I do not have to set up altars to make sacrifices any longer? You mean I do not have to please the Sun God, the Moon God, the River God, and the Earth God all at once and simultaneously? You mean there is only one God? And this God is not a taker? This God does not want to take from me? This God instead wants to give me life and breath and everything else? God wants to add to me not take away from me?" This was radical, different, and revolutionary. To the Athenians it was too good to be true.
 
Paul continues to amp up his teaching, "God made the nations so they would seek him, perhaps even reach out to him and find him. In fact, God isn't far away from any of us" (Acts 17:27). Once again, this is a shock for the Athenians. Their conception is that the gods are angry with them. The gods must be kept pacified like a selfish, egotistical toddler demanding her way and is ready to throw a tantrum at anytime. But this God of Paul is not like that. This God wants to be sought, reached out to, and found. In other words, Paul's God wants a relationship with the Athenians. The unknown God is not on Mount Olympus high above and far away. The Divine is near, not somewhere else. The Divine can be found because the Divine is already with the Athenians. The Divine has actually come to them. No need for the Athenians to climb Mount Olympus. They only need to reach out a hand. It is easy to imagine that the hearts of the Athenians were racing. Their palms were sweating. This is an extremely compelling view of the Divine.
 
Finally, Paul lands the plane with these dramatic words, "In God we live, move, and exist. As some of your own poets said, 'We are his offspring'" (Acts 17:28). Once again, Paul is bridging the world of the Athenians to his message. He quotes the poets of Athens as being true. This is not just a good public speaking strategy. What the poets have written is true. Paul does not attack the Athenians. He compliments them and pays homage to their culture. This would be much like quoting the truth spoken by poets of our popular culture: Kanye West, Lady GaGa, Beyonce, Maroon Five, Miley Cyrus, or Taylor Swift.
 
Using poetic truth, Paul tells the Athenians they are living in, moving in, and existing in God. What Paul said is powerful, but what he has not said is even more powerful. He did not tell them they were separated from God. Paul continues his encouragement. He explains to the Athenians they are God's offspring. He did not tell them to do some religious exercise or prayer in order to live in, move in, exist in, and to be God's offspring. Paul's message is that the Athenians were already experiencing all these truths. This is really Good News. Through his message, Paul is waking up the Athenians to the reality they already possess. They have been asleep to the unknown God who is Paul's God, who is in fact the God, the Ultimate Reality, the Higher Power, the Universal Consciousness, the Divine.
 
Now Watch This...
 
In a spiritual sense, Paul is telling the Athenians they are legal aliens. They are in God. They are God's offspring. They are legal. They are legitimate. But they are asleep to their real identity. Maybe they are indifferent or even apathetic, but they were existing in God. The Athenians were God's children. Sure they had been in a dreamlike state with their spirituality. Just like we do strange things in our physical dreams, the Athenians did the same in their spiritual dream. They created 29,999 gods and one more unknown God just in case they left one out. They had a sense God was beckoning, but they responded as legal aliens. Paul was attempting to wake them to live as legal residents of God to live in the full potential God desired for them.
 
I know what you have been told. You have been told you are separated from God. You are an illegal immigrant. You are illegitimate. You have been told you must do some deed or religious exercise to be legal and legitimate. You have been told you must earn your citizenship. You have been made to feel less than.
 
God says there are no illegal immigrants. We are all his. We all belong. Most of us just do not know, are blind, or asleep to this reality. As result, we live as legal aliens thinking we are illegal immigrants.
 
This is what God is saying to us today. Do not live as legal aliens. Live as legal residents. You are his offspring. You live in, move in, and exist in God. Wake up to this reality. Live in the freedoms God has for you. Exercise your citizenship.
 
How? By repentance and faith. Repentance is waking to the reality you are God's. You belong to the Divine. Repentance is the decision to accept that ultimate reality. Now faith is living in that reality trusting the Divine is with you, for you, and moving in your behalf.
 
Which Brings Me to a Story...
 
There was a young family who brought home their newborn infant. It would be the first time their first child, now a toddler, would meet the baby.  Upon seeing her new sibling, the toddler asked to be alone, with the door closed, in the nursery with the infant. At first, the parents were a bit nervous to do such a thing, but they remembered there was a monitor in the nursery. So they agreed to the toddler's request.
 
They let the toddler in the nursery. They gently closed the door. Immediately, they ran downstairs to listen at the monitor. As they listened, they heard the toddler walk over to the crib and begin talking to the infant. To their astonishment, the toddler said to the infant, "Can you tell me about God? It has been so long since I have been with him I have nearly forgotten what he is like."
 
In the same way...
 
You are from God and of God.
You are legitimate, a legal resident.
By your birth, you were born into God, into the Divine.
You were born into grace.
Now live in that grace.
Just like a fish is born into water, you were born into God's grace.
Now swim in it.
The Divine will keep you afloat.
 
Dr. Brian Turner
 

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