This is a typical Saturday morning for Jan and me. We started the day a little slowly, our time with God (quiet time, devotional time) coming an hour or two later than on other days of the week. Today during our "quiet time" we have been accompanied by loud amplified music and singing from the school courtyard below us. It may be a group singing competition: we see different coloured clothing on groups below. We cannot see the covered stage or the audience sitting under a very large red and white tent. And because our Vietnamese is extremely limited, we have no idea what they are singing or saying. It was hard to concentrate on Scripture and prayer today. It was another reminder that we are foreigners here.
We are very thankful to be in Vietnam and really enjoy numerous parts of life here. However we admit that it is not always easy to be "strangers or aliens" in a foreign country. Language and culture "barriers" are consistently a part of life whenever you are away from your home country. We cannot read any signs unless they are in English and we are sometimes surprised by preparations for a special day because we've not yet become accustomed to the many Vietnamese holidays.
Even though you may be living in your "home" country, you too should feel like a foreigner. The Apostle Peter was very conscious of this reality as it applies to followers of Jesus. If we are shaped by Scripture, by Jesus and the work of God's Spirit then we will not "fit in", no matter where we are living: in the place we were born or in a distant country. Those who belong to Jesus belong to the family of God; to an eternal city. So Peter twice uses terms that underline this fact.
"Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear." I Peter 1:17
"Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul." 2:11
Yes, like us in Vietnam, there are many people and things to enjoy when you are a foreigner. But we are "not at home"; we can never fully "fit in". So it should be for every Christian, wherever you live. We should never feel fully at home. Our perspective, our goals, our values are shaped by Another. The more we grow to be like Christ, the more we will feel like foreigners, even when with those we love dearly; even with our unbelieving family or friends. If we ever feel fully at home here on earth, it is a warning signal that something is wrong; we should be "looking for a better country - a heavenly one." Hebrews 11:15
Our joy of belonging to Christ and our anticipation of spending all of eternity in God's presence carries with it, in this life, the burden of being "foreigners and exiles." At this time of year, as much of the world celebrates Christmas, we believers rejoice and yet we feel the clash with the secular and commercial celebration; we feel the sadness of celebration if it goes no further than being with family and friends. If this were really our longed for home country, than everything and everyone would be centered on the Christ of Christmas. We rightly feel like foreigners because "our citizenship is in heaven." Philippians 3:20
We are very thankful to be in Vietnam and really enjoy numerous parts of life here. However we admit that it is not always easy to be "strangers or aliens" in a foreign country. Language and culture "barriers" are consistently a part of life whenever you are away from your home country. We cannot read any signs unless they are in English and we are sometimes surprised by preparations for a special day because we've not yet become accustomed to the many Vietnamese holidays.
Even though you may be living in your "home" country, you too should feel like a foreigner. The Apostle Peter was very conscious of this reality as it applies to followers of Jesus. If we are shaped by Scripture, by Jesus and the work of God's Spirit then we will not "fit in", no matter where we are living: in the place we were born or in a distant country. Those who belong to Jesus belong to the family of God; to an eternal city. So Peter twice uses terms that underline this fact.
"Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear." I Peter 1:17
"Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul." 2:11
Yes, like us in Vietnam, there are many people and things to enjoy when you are a foreigner. But we are "not at home"; we can never fully "fit in". So it should be for every Christian, wherever you live. We should never feel fully at home. Our perspective, our goals, our values are shaped by Another. The more we grow to be like Christ, the more we will feel like foreigners, even when with those we love dearly; even with our unbelieving family or friends. If we ever feel fully at home here on earth, it is a warning signal that something is wrong; we should be "looking for a better country - a heavenly one." Hebrews 11:15
Our joy of belonging to Christ and our anticipation of spending all of eternity in God's presence carries with it, in this life, the burden of being "foreigners and exiles." At this time of year, as much of the world celebrates Christmas, we believers rejoice and yet we feel the clash with the secular and commercial celebration; we feel the sadness of celebration if it goes no further than being with family and friends. If this were really our longed for home country, than everything and everyone would be centered on the Christ of Christmas. We rightly feel like foreigners because "our citizenship is in heaven." Philippians 3:20
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