Passing Through With Purpose
On Sunday, Jen also touched on living as strangers and exiles in this world.
1 Peter 2:11-12 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul. 12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.
Peter urges believers to live as "strangers and exiles," abstaining from sinful desires while maintaining "honorable conduct" among those who do not believe. Our conduct matters. This is an interesting concept because being a stranger or an exile requires a certain mindset.
Remember when you were a kid, and your friend invited you over to their house for the first time. You were entering new territory. It was a place you’d never been before. You were a stranger to this house. Most people, and I hope you did or would, enter the home with respect and with care. Why? Because you are a stranger to that place. The mindset then is, “I conduct myself with respect toward others and with care because this place is not my home. I am just passing through.
We are not supposed to assimilate. That word means to become part of this place. We are not to take in its ways and learn to operate like it. Peter says it this way:
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
Much of our Christian life, especially if we didn’t grow up knowing the Lord, is unlearning the bad habits of this world. It also entails becoming distinct in our identity as Christ followers and living in the light, as one who has been called out of darkness. We also don’t want to isolate.
Jesus said:
John 17:14-16 I have given them your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
Jesus didn’t want us to hide away or pray to get out of this place but rather asked the Father to protect us as we shine like lights in this dark place and make others thirsty for God by our saltiness. Not salty as in annoying and upset about things, but as a seasoning that makes life tasty. We flavor life with a God perspective. When we hide away, we miss opportunities to share the gospel.
What are you more prone to do:
Assimilate
Isolate
Become a respectful stranger
Thanks for reading.