We’re sojourners; we’re pilgrims.  We’re just passing through.  Because we’re strangers.  We’re foreigners, our citizenship is not here. This is not our permanent home, heaven is…a new heaven and new earth will be our new home.

Being a military family, we’ve had a variety of living quarters ranging from small, big, very old, brand new, and almost new; brick, rock, siding; rented, owned or military housing, and we appreciated each house by turning it into a home.  The walls in each home were adorned, and still are, with pictures capturing memories through the years, and other tangible memories are scattered about.  The pictures don’t only capture fun memories, they reflect change and growth, spiritual and otherwise.

I think the oldest house we lived in was at Travis.  The last time we saw it was during a vacation back to the States when we were stationed in Japan.  It was fun walking a bit in the old neighborhood and walking to the park we used to frequent, where we fed the ducks at the pond.  We all talked about many memories during that visit.  Since that visit, we understand those houses no longer exist; they all were demolished.

It didn’t matter where we lived, or if we rented, we sought to take care of each house as though we owned it.  It’s okay to enjoy the beautiful world and we should strive to be good stewards of our dwellings, even putting up some décor; we love on our pets, take care of yards, and strive to be a good neighbor.

I couldn’t help but think of 2 Peter 3, which talks about the Day of the Lord that’s coming, and that one day everything will be burned up.  All the houses we enjoyed and turned into homes will be gone.  Included in this earthly finale is our spiritual assessment of what kind of lives we lived for Christ.  The new heaven and new earth will be better than any home we fixed up here.

Though we enjoy many things in this world, we need to be careful about getting caught up in the worldliness of the world.  There are many things which can pull at us, but we must be diligent and vigilant in our walk, keeping focused on Him.  1 Peter 2:11 says…Beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.  While we’re not to love this world, we’re supposed to be associated with this world-for in associating, we love others as Christ would have us (1 Cor 5:9-10).  If we pull away, don’t interact, don’t help, don’t associate, we miss opportunities to share Him.  Worse, a lack of concern for others indicates what’s in our hearts.  I know I have fallen in this area.  I haven’t taken advantage of an opportunity at hand to be the hands, feet and voice of Christ.  The least I can do is offer my ear, a bit of time…to listen.  Sometimes that’s what the opportunity at hand is for.  So, I need to personally reflect, and we need to encourage each other on our journeys.

In the long run, we’re just passing through this world; this is not our permanent home.  However, in this world we experience and witness various trials and tribulations; some brought on by self, others not, all of which is more reason to reflect and ponder opportunities at hand.  In reflecting, we learn, we grow; but we don’t wallow; we don’t keep looking back so much so that we don’t move forward.  Jesus said to “take heart,” so we keep fighting the fight, we keep going forward.  We fall, but we get up; others fall, but we encourage them to get up.  We know we will never fully overcome all that’s in this world, but we look forward to Hope because Christ said He has overcome the world (John 16:33).

Our citizenship is not in this world, but one day it will be…for one day we will live with God; He will wipe away every tear, and there won’t be any more death, mourning, crying or pain (Rev 21:3-4).  In the meantime, we’ll strive to be good stewards; continue to build memories and aim to be good neighbors.  While followers of Christ are strangers and pilgrims in this world, we’re no longer foreigners and strangers with one another because we’re fellow citizens with God’s people and members of His household, as Eph 2:19-22 says.  Thus, all followers of Christ are His citizens; we share Him as a common Bond; we need to encourage each other on our journeys, knowing that we’re passing through this world together, as strangers and foreigners.  And in doing so, we’re to be mindful of who we are, and why we are; we’re to think and behave differently as we live in this world.  It’s not a judgmental statement, for we will do well to remember how we once lived, how we were once alienated (Eph 2:1-10).

As we sojourn, we look forward to a new, permanent home.

Earnestly,

Yours