Over the past few weeks we’ve begun looking at the letter of 1 Peter. This letter gives Christians a new perspective on life – a new perspective on who we are and on where our lives are headed. This week as we look at chapter 2 of the letter we’ll see what a present privilege it is to be who we are – the community of God’s people, saved by him and precious to him. Wherever there are little communities of God’s chosen exiles around the world, God is there with them, building them together into something worthy of great honour – his dwelling place.
But let me take you back to that first mark of the Christian’s identity – chosen by God to be his exiles in the world. This world is not our home. It’s easy to become comfortable in this world, especially here in Australia. But as we look at the world news of the last week, it should give us more reason to long for our eternal home, and to want to see everyone else longing for it too. As we look at a world where fights over small tracts of land claim the lives of families who live in constant fear… as we see efforts to retrieve the remains of family members from an aircraft shot down in cold blood hampered by ongoing conflict, while those responsible remain unidentified… as we see a child ‘acquired’ under a surrogacy arrangement rejected because of Down syndrome.
The words of 1 Peter are a comfort to Christians that a world like this is not our eternal home. We should need no more convincing of this than to look at our Christian brothers and sisters who have been driven out of the city of Mosul in Iraq for no other reason than that they are Christians. They were given the option to renounce their Christian faith and convert to Islam, but they refused to disown the true God who they know has their eternal future safe and will keep them safe to inherit it. They have stood firm as God’s chosen exiles. They have lost just about everything of earthly value, yet they have lost nothing of eternal value.
As we stand firm, neither will we. This world is not our home. Let’s keep our eyes fixed on our real home and seek to bring as many people with us as we can.
In Christ’s love,
Paul
But let me take you back to that first mark of the Christian’s identity – chosen by God to be his exiles in the world. This world is not our home. It’s easy to become comfortable in this world, especially here in Australia. But as we look at the world news of the last week, it should give us more reason to long for our eternal home, and to want to see everyone else longing for it too. As we look at a world where fights over small tracts of land claim the lives of families who live in constant fear… as we see efforts to retrieve the remains of family members from an aircraft shot down in cold blood hampered by ongoing conflict, while those responsible remain unidentified… as we see a child ‘acquired’ under a surrogacy arrangement rejected because of Down syndrome.
The words of 1 Peter are a comfort to Christians that a world like this is not our eternal home. We should need no more convincing of this than to look at our Christian brothers and sisters who have been driven out of the city of Mosul in Iraq for no other reason than that they are Christians. They were given the option to renounce their Christian faith and convert to Islam, but they refused to disown the true God who they know has their eternal future safe and will keep them safe to inherit it. They have stood firm as God’s chosen exiles. They have lost just about everything of earthly value, yet they have lost nothing of eternal value.
As we stand firm, neither will we. This world is not our home. Let’s keep our eyes fixed on our real home and seek to bring as many people with us as we can.
In Christ’s love,
Paul
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