Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. – Ephesians 2:19-20

We all know what it feels like to stand on the outside looking in. Maybe it was a new job, a new city, or even just a new social circle. That pervasive, subtle ache of being a “foreigner and a stranger” unregistered, uninvited, carrying temporary papers, always aware that you are slightly out of step. The Apostle Paul understood that feeling, and he speaks directly to the deep human yearning for belonging in Ephesians 2:19. He declares that, through Christ, that painful status is annihilated. He proclaims, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people.” We didn’t just get a visitor’s visa; we were granted full, irrevocable citizenship. You are no longer on the outside. You have a passport stamped by grace, a permanent residence where your name is already known, and a community waiting to say, “Welcome home.”

But this new status is even richer than being a fellow citizen; Paul calls us “members of his household.” A citizen status typically means shared laws and political rights, but a household is where the real, messy, intimate life happens. It’s where we reveal our true selves the unpolished, vulnerable parts. The place where we argue over small things and rush to comfort each other when deep crisis hits. This is the radical intimacy of God’s plan. We are connected not just by shared faith, but by shared life, a spiritual family where our deepest imperfections are known, and yet we are still kept. Think of the warmth of a kitchen, the laughter, the shared meals, the simple, reliable presence of others. That is the nature of this household we now belong to, bound together by love and honesty, not just by paperwork.

What makes this citizenship and this household so secure? It’s not built on fluctuating economies or changing human opinions. Paul reminds us in verse 20 that this community is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” This isn’t a cheap tent we set up; it’s a permanent structure anchored in history and held together by the very presence of God in Christ. The chief cornerstone is the rock that sets the angle for the entire building, ensuring stability and alignment. Our entire life, our hope, and our security rest on the unwavering, perfect placement of Jesus. Today, as fellow citizens of this eternally stable kingdom, we are called to live not with the insecurity of strangers, but with the quiet, confident assurance of those who know their home is eternally safe, allowing us to serve, love, and build a more stable life for others.