In A Foreign Land

Psalm 137:1-6

How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a pagan land? (Psalm 137:4)

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN your society makes it impossible to live a biblical lifestyle? Jews who had been taken captive to Babylon and then Persia found it virtually impossible to follow all the commands from the law of Moses. With difficulty, they could keep dietary laws, as Daniel and his friends did, but keeping laws of sacrifice at the Tabernacle or Temple (both of which no longer existed), observing certain elements of feast celebrations, and maintaining a viable priesthood were often beyond their circumstances. The heart of their worship was centered in Jerusalem, and Jerusalem was in ruins. They were far from home geographically, spiritually, and emotionally. They had to learn new ways without compromising their faith.

We experience something similar today, often without realizing how far from home we have been taken. God’s instructions are written on our hearts, but our hearts have to live in a world that complicates his instructions. It is extremely difficult to live in a culture of credit without charging or paying interest, both of which are strongly discouraged by biblical teaching. It is quite a challenge to strive for biblical simplicity in a society that practically demands expensive transportation, high-tech communications, and almost constant availability. It often goes beyond our thinking to care for widows and orphans when we have public and private programs that do that. Our culture shifts our mind-set away from biblical purity.

So what do we do? Like the scattered Jews, we adapt to our circumstances while preserving our distinctions wherever we can. We recognize the heart of God’s instructions even when the details are culturally far removed from us. We sing songs of the Lord, even in a spiritually distant land. We ask hard questions about absolutes and cultural relativity, and we negotiate between them the best we can.

Our calling as Christians in the midst of non-Christian (or historically Christian) cultures makes us feel like aliens in a foreign land. In fact, Scripture uses the same metaphor. Embrace your foreignness. See yourself as a traveler passing through this world. And fix your heart on eternal truth. The Lord’s songs go wherever you take them.

{Lord, my discomfort in this world is by design. I’m a citizen of heaven living in a foreign land. Make the most of my involvements here, but keep me anchored in your Kingdom. Amen.