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Sojourners on the Earth (1 Pe 2:11)

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. - 1 Peter 2:11


In the Torah we read the story of Israel's foreign residence and slavery in Egypt and their subsequent journey through the Wilderness to the Promised Land.


As a slightly modified quote originating with Augustine goes, "The New Testament is in the Old concealed, and the Old Testament is in the New revealed"


The stories of the Old Testament are not just history lessons, they are eternal spiritual realities that can help us better understand our relationship with the world and with God.


Just as the Hebrews were foreigners in Egypt, and then pilgrims in the Wilderness journeying toward the Promised Land, we Christians are foreigners in this world making a pilgrimage toward our eternal home.


However the major difference between the two scenarios is that the Exodus took place only chronologically - first they were in Egypt, then the Wilderness, then the Promised Land. For Christians, all three of these states are both chronological and ongoing realities.


We find ourselves physically still in this world, we are on an ongoing pilgrimage through the wilderness, and we have already been sealed with the guarantee of the Holy Spirit.


Just as the Hebrews in the Wilderness were tempted to want to go back to Egypt instead of pressing on toward the Promised Land, we too are bombarded with distractions and deceptions of this world attempting to lure our hearts back to it.


But unlike the Hebrews who relied on an external God to guide them into the Promised Land (the pillar of cloud by day, the pillar of fire by night, the tabernacle, the manna etc) we have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Rather than leading our feet to a final physical destination of rest, He brings our minds and hearts back to the knowledge that in Christ "It is Finished."


It is a great paradox of the faith that God's Kingdom is both now and not yet. It is here, and yet it is coming.


This world is not our home, and yet it is transforming into it. The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that has been planted into the soil of the earth and will not stop until it is fully grown. At that point Heaven and Earth will merge and we will enjoy the benefits of both.


This unseen heavenly reality of what earth will be - this is our true home. And we are called to live our lives, not as an attempt to earn our citizenship into this new world, but from the knowledge that we have already been granted permanent residence there.


Each day we have the opportunity to bring more of heaven to earth. But this can only be done by remembering who we are, and where we are from. We are not tourists on a luxurious vacation, we are sojourners on a heavenly mission.



Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in.

Aim at earth and you get neither.

C.S. Lewis

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Sheila Flynn
Sheila Flynn
27 de jan.

the kingdom is now and not yet. do everything you can for the kingdom no thanks is needed it is who we are

Curtir

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