Is Your Spiritual Passport in Order?

By Bill McKibben

After waiting in line for over an hour, I stood at the service window of the passport office. The receptionist had checked to make sure I had brought a certified copy of my birth certificate as well as another form of identification. She had made it clear that the copy must be certified by the government. I presented these to the passport officer and waited for my passport to be processed.

My thoughts were thousands of miles away in Southeast Asia where I would be visiting. Then the passport officer asked, “Is your name Jane?” I looked at him curiously and said, “No, but I have a sister named Jane.” He handed back the birth certificate. I looked down at it in amazement, realizing what had happened. My mother had sent my sister’s birth certificate instead of mine, and I hadn’t noticed! I had traveled nearly an hour to the passport office and waited in a long line, only to be denied what I came to obtain.

Is it possible that we might make a similar mistake in our spiritual preparations to meet the Lord? We might assume our “birth certificate” is correct, but we don’t want to come before God and realize we don’t have proof that we were born again. Jesus said in the third chapter of John, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Our spiritual birth must be certified by the government of Heaven. This happens when our names are written in the Book of Life (Revelation 21:27). It is not enough to attend church or read the Bible, nor can we depend on someone else’s experiences as I had done when I presented someone else’s birth certificate.

My birth certificate and passport were of no great importance until I wanted to leave this country and enter another. All at once they became vital. No matter what preparations I made—my tickets purchased, my baggage packed, even arriving at my point of departure—I could not enter my destination without a passport. I realized there were requirements to obtain this document, but I was in such a hurry that I didn’t pay attention to this important detail. We may be tempted to think we can take care of some details of our spiritual preparations on another day. How much better to obtain our spiritual passport and have it ready to be “stamped” whenever the Lord calls us to that heavenly country!

Later, as I entered several foreign countries, I found the immigration officials were quite serious about visitors having proper authorization. I was reminded of how serious God is about proper authorization: He requires it of everyone before they enter Heaven. Jesus paid the price for our spiritual birth certificates, and He has offered us spiritual passports by writing our names in His Book of Life. It is up to us to pay attention to the details He requires of us! Then we will be ready to enter Heaven and have Him stamp the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant . . . enter thou into the joy of thy lord,” on our eternal passport.

Bill McKibben is the pastor of the Apostolic Faith Church in Medford, Oregon and Director of Asian Work for the Apostolic Faith Church.