Foreigners

Foreigners

Read: John 15:18-25

“If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.”

John 15:19

“If you keep in step with God, you’ll be out of step with the world.”

—Anonymous

IN WORD Christians must make their relationship with Christ their foremost preoccupation. But we must also be aware of our relationship with the world. From time to time, we must ask ourselves whether we are living as citizens of heaven in a foreign land or as citizens of this world looking forward to a foreign kingdom. If we find ourselves with the latter point of view, it’s time to rearrange some priorities.

Having been born as descendants of Adam, thoroughly indoctrinated in the ways of this world, it is often difficult to remember just how alien our life in Christ is to this fallen planet. But we have been born of something entirely different than corruptible human flesh. We have been born “not of natural descent . . . but born of God” (John 1:13). We have radically different origins than we might have thought.

This is why Jesus speaks often of the persecution His disciples will face. “I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you,” He tells them (v. 19). There is no softening of this blow, no encouragement to get along as well as they can with the culture they live in. It is an ominous warning, one that many of us will never realize in the same way the disciples did. But we will experience the tension it foretells nonetheless.

IN DEED Have you felt discouraged when there is friction between you and this world because of your identity in Christ? The clash of cultures between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world can be frustrating. But let it encourage you. Remember that it is a sign of your foreign citizenship. It is evidence of your relationship with the eternal Son of God, who also did not receive a king’s welcome here. It would be much more troubling if all was well between you and your culture. Know that becoming like the Master is the greatest thing a servant can do, and rejoice that your relationship with Him is taking precedence over your relationship with the world.