I remember standing on the deck behind our house in OH a number of years ago talking to my then college-aged son. I have forgotten what triggered the conversation but I remember distinctly telling him that we as followers of Christ are sojourners in this world.
That's an old term. In fact its probably from the King James. It basically means that we are temporary residents here. We are aliens in this world. Our citizenship is in another world...the Kingdom of God.
So what made me think of that this morning as I woke up clearly and couldn't go back to sleep? I was freaking out a little yesterday from all the changes I am going through. It's been 20 years since I wore a suit or sport coat and tie to work. I started out yesterday morning at a tailor's in downtown Lancaster getting my suit fitted as well as a blazer I bought a few years ago.
I printed out my selection package for my job that I need to have completed by when I report on Monday, June 6. It's at least a quarter of an inch thick. Intimidating.
I'm making a significant change in my way of life. From wearing jeans, tee shirts, comfortable shoes (I found out they do have some of those for dress) and getting dirty to wearing a dress shirt and tie daily in an office building that is probably too warm for my comfort but energy-saving.
This is the first time in my life when I am working in a downtown office building, living out of the city (maybe) and riding public transportation to my job. That's a lifestyle change but one that millions of people in the world experience every day.
What is my task in this very different world I am entering? The same task I have always had...to use my gifts to serve and bless those for whom I am employed. To represent the One I follow and to spread His love to those who are hungry for it.
Am I going to take tracts with me to hand out? Or carry my big KJV reference bible to work every day? Or have a lapel pin of the cross?
No. My life is going to be my testimony. How I serve in a world that is different than where I usually find myself but similar in so many ways. I am going to be among people who have not experienced the love of God. Or if they ever did they have lost touch with it.
People who are having struggles in their world with their marriage, their children, with their job, with their future and a million other things we all ponder as we wonder what is happening next in our lives. Our lives all seem a little out of control. One of my friends in OH was mentioning how she thinks NE OH may be turning into the next rain forest. I suggested that at least she hasn't been transported to tornado alley. She was glad for that because tornadoes are so random.
That describes the world we are living in...random. A record number of tornadoes this year. Record catastrophic floods. Record gas prices. Record food prices. The uncertainty of our job futures.
The world around us needs the assurance that we can offer them...that we are all sojourners in this land. This is not our permanent home. Our security is not in our retirement package or our paid down or off mortgage or our health from "good, clean living". Some of us have lived good clean lives and still gotten deathly sick.
Our lives are to demonstrate to those around us who have no hope what it is like to live with hope for a future that isn't dependent on Wall Street. How does one live in a world where nothing is "normal"?
We live as citizens of another Kingdom. We live with responses that come from the opposite Spirit than that who roams this world. We live so that others may ask "what is the hope that you live with?"
It's kinda hard to live like that. The pressure is to go with the flow. If your income increases, ramp up your lifestyle so that you can impress those around you. If someone snaps at you, snap back. They deserve it. If someone is taking out their fears and frustrations on you, give them a cold shoulder.
Living as citizens of another world. Sojourners in the one we find ourselves in this morning. Father, give us the grace, a full dose of your Holy Spirit and empower us to live as those who belong to a world that is far different that the one we serve in this day.
