Living in a Foreign City

"You know that you who are the servants of God dwell in a strange land; for your city is far away from this one…. Have a care, therefore: as one living in a foreign land…. Have a care, then, ye who serve the Lord, and have Him in your heart, that ye work the works of God, remembering His commands and promises which He promised, and believe that He will bring them to pass if His commandments be observed. Instead of lands, therefore, buy afflicted souls, according as each one is able, and visit widows and orphans, and do not overlook them; and spend your wealth and all your preparations, which ye received from the Lord, upon such lands and houses. For to this end did the Master make you rich, that you might perform these services unto Him; and it is much better to purchase such lands, and possessions, and houses, as you will find in your own city, when you come to reside in it." 

–The Shepherd of Hermas 50.1, 6-10 (mid-2^nd century)

I have traveled to foreign countries for missions work twice, once to Eastern Europe and once to Central America. There was never a moment during either trip when I forgot that I was not at home. The entire time I knew I was a stranger in a strange land. The language, customs, and culture that surrounded me were very different than my own. This does not mean they were wrong or bad. I enjoyed eating the local food, meeting the people, and, in the case of the first trip, studying the language. But it was still foreign to me. I was an outsider, and I knew I would soon be leaving and returning to my own people and land.

The NT uses similar ideas to describe our place in this world. Peter refers to Christians as “elect exiles” and implores them “as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh” (1Pet. 1:1; 2:11). Paul reminds his readers they ought to “deal with this world as though they had no dealings with it” because it is passing away (1Cor. 7:31).

We can and should enjoy the wholesome things of this world as gifts of a good and loving God (Ecc. 3:11-13). We are not to separate from the world; we are to be salt and light within it (Matt. 5:13-16). But we must bear in mind “This world is not my home; I’m just a passin’ through. My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue.” This world is not our home, and we must beware becoming too comfortable in it. Enjoy life, and use what God provides for His glory. But know who you are, where you belong, and where you are going. –JME

Antithesis amid Commonality

For Christians are not distinguished from the rest of mankind either in locality or in speech or in customs. For they dwell not somewhere in cities of their own, neither do they use some different language, nor practise an extraordinary kind of life. Nor again do they possess any invention discovered by any intelligence or study of ingenious men, nor are they masters of any human dogma as some are. But while they dwell in cities of Greeks and barbarians as the lot of each is cast, and follow the native customs in dress and food and the other arrangements of life, yet the constitution of their own citizenship, which they set forth, is marvellous, and confessedly contradicts expectation. They dwell in their own countries, but only as sojourners; they bear their share in all things as citizens, and they endure all hardships as strangers. Every foreign country is a fatherland to them, and every fatherland is foreign. They marry like all other men and they beget children; but they do not cast away their offspring. They have their meals in common, but not their wives. They find themselves in the flesh, and yet they live not after the flesh. Their existence is on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven.

-Epistle to Diognetus 5.1-9 (mid-2^nd century)

Antithesis and commonality are two words that describe a lot about our relationship as Christians to the world in which we live. We are in the world, but not of the world, at least, not in the truest sense. “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Php. 3:20). We are citizens of an earthly nation (Acts 22:26-28), but this is only temporary since one day the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of Christ (Rev. 11:15-19). One day “the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” and judged by God (2Pet. 3:10).

We stand in contrast to the world in which we live, yet we share much in common with it. What distinguishes us as Christians is our relation to God by grace through faith. Outwardly we appear ordinary. We marry and raise children. We go to school and have jobs. We buy houses, plant gardens, go on vacations, buy new clothes, attend movies, socialize with friends, watch sports, vote in elections, and live like most others in our society. But fundamentally there is a radical difference, because none of these things define us; Christ does. We are more than the sum of our activities. Our significance is the result of God’s love. –JME