A Different Kind of Colony

In this strange kind of church life we are now in, I started a study through the book of Philippians for our congregation on Facebook. As I was preparing for the introduction last night, I was especially looking for details about the city of Philippi. There is a little detail about the city in the book of Acts I had never given much thought."...and from there to Philippi, a Roman colony..." (Acts 16:12)When I think of colonies as an American, I think of England's colonies which sparked the existence of this nation. A property owned by another nation for its own benefit and profit. The residents usually did not have the same rights or protections as those of the mother country.Roman colonies were different. Colonies were not usually new places, but a designation given to existing cities which had come under Roman rule. In the case of Philippi, it became a Roman colony when Augustus Caesar was celebrating his victory over Brutus and Cassius. But the differences don't stop there.You see, a Roman colony was considered a part of the city of Rome itself. An outpost of culture, civilization and Roman influence. The residents of Philippi were not just "colonists" but citizens of the city of Rome. They had legal and civic rights that those in neighboring towns did not.Ok, cool history. But so what?As I thought about this set-up, it blended with some other things I have been learning from the Bible Project's study on the Tree of Life in their podcast. They explain how the garden of Eden was an outpost of heaven on earth. A little patch of eternity in creation. After Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, there is a pattern of new "Edens" new outposts. The altar on a hill where Noah sacrificed and God made promises. A burning bush in front of Moses. Later in that same place, Moses would receive the law, the rule of life in God's kingdom.In the Roman sense, these were little colonies. Part of the Kingdom of Heaven in a foreign land to extend the culture, civilization, and glory of God and his kingdom. Soon there would be a traveling tent in the middle of the people of Israel, now a colony of the kingdom. That tent would become a temple.Here is where I got excited.

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three, because the sun's light failed. The curtain of the sanctuary was split down the middle. And Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit." Saying this, he breathed his lastLuke 23:44-46 CSB

That curtain was the dividing line between the "Colony" and the rest of us. Now as Paul tells us, we are:

God's temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you?1 Corinthians 3:16

And

but our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus ChristPhilippians 3:20

The verses are too many to count telling us that those who love Jesus now carry inside of them that "Eden" that little outpost of heaven extending the culture, civilization, and glory of God in the world around us.Life has become more isolated, and yet these things are still true of us. Among our families, in the workplaces for those who are able, to our neighbors (with appropriate distancing), to those in need, and in the quiet space in our own heart we are the colonies of a kingdom without end and we have the chance to embrace that purpose every day, both now and when this time of restrainment is behind us.