Tuesday Reflection- December 14, 2021

Strangers in an Alien Land

While I lived in the Cayman Islands, I would caution many persons who cane there on work permit to be careful how they spent their earnings. I didn’t want them to complete their time allowed to work only to find that they had spent all their earnings and now had nothing to go home with. My saying was that they were at work and not at home so should not live as if they were home. They were strangers in a foreign land. The Watchword for today is a reminder of that period in my life, not because I was not feeling at home but because the reality was that I knew the day would come when I would have no more time to remain in that country unless my status changed. I know what it means to live as a stranger in a foreign land. Today’s Watchword is from Psalm 119: 19 I live as an alien in the land.

What does it mean to live as a stranger in a foreign land? It’s different from being a visitor. A visitor already knows that time is limited and even while enjoying the hospitality of the visit, will be busy preparing for the return trip home. When one lives in a land however, one becomes a part of the system, builds relationships with the people, and become a valued contributor to the economy through earning and spending. Strangers are just as valuable to the existence of an economic system as the residents are. While one group is transient and are always being rotated, the other is stable and always in place. The children of Israel considered themselves aliens in the land or strangers in the earth. They were the transient population. We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace 1 Chronicles 29: 15. This was based on the concept that they were on the earth only for a short time so should not live as if they were there forever. Life was thus described like a bird in flight, visible but for a short while, rather than as a mountain or as the sun which were always there. It was a way of recognizing humanity’s greatest limitation, the brevity of life. We are here for a limited time and so should live wisely, making good use of the time we have.

Being strangers in this world also means that as Christians we should not become like the world, but should maintain our difference, our uniqueness as children of God. The concept of being in the world but not of the world comes to mind here. Jesus when he prayed for the disciples did not pray for them to be removed from the world but for them be kept safely, to have a sense of belonging to a better place which He, Jesus would be going to prepare. The call then is for us not to be conformed to the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we might pay keener attention to the things that are godly rather than those that are worldly. To be a stranger is to be careful of who and what we become attached to, it is to ensure that we glorify God and not humanity through our words and work. It is to know that as God’s children we will not be loved, valued or respected by the world. It is to refuse to partake in the sinful actions of the world even if it means we will be looked down on and ostracized. More importantly, it is knowing that this world is not home for us for we long for a better world, one whose builder and maker is God. A city prepared for a prepared people, a people who live not for this world, but for life eternal with Jesus Christ. Yes friends, we await its realization, we await Christ’s return, and we await His invitation to enter our Master’s joy. In this Advent season, may we look forward to His coming not only as a baby for Christmas celebrations, but as the King of Kings to claim and welcome those who faithfully await His return. We are strangers in a foreign land and our time of going home is fast approaching. Let us be prepared. I close with the doctrinal text from Eph 5: 15 and 16 Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time. Amen.