“And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile.” (1 Peter 1:17, ESV)
There is a difference between your citizenship and your residence. You can have residence in a country that is not your own. When I was in seminary, I studied in Israel for a semester. My residence was Israel, but my citizenship was the United States.
I still remember feeling a bit homesick on a particular day. The university where I was studying had some VCR tapes of Seinfeld. I spent the day binge watching episodes of Seinfeld to feel more at home. As great as my experience was in Israel, I still had a longing for my home.
We can have some great experiences while we live in this world, but we always desire our true home. Peter tells us to conduct ourselves with fear during this time of exile. What does it mean to be exiled? It means to be sent away from your home. While on this earth we are away from our true home which is with the Lord.
Every day we have longings for our true home, although we may not recognize it. There are great disappointments and frustrations in life. We may long for more than we are currently experiencing. All of our struggles in this world are ultimately a longing for our true home. For now, I am away from the Lord. But I anticipate the day my sojourn will come to an end. Because of the shed blood of Jesus, we are citizens of the new heavens and earth that are still to come.
Reflection
- How do your struggles in life point you to your true home?
- How does the knowledge that you are living in exile bring you confidence for the future?
Prayer
Lord God, we thank you for our heavenly citizenship that Jesus acquired on the cross. While we live on this earth, we experience homesickness. Thank you for the reminders of your presence to help get us through the difficult times until we experience our joyful homecoming to be with you. Amen.
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