Unless we are 100% heavenly-minded and treasure God above all, the simple fact is that we will be of no earthly good – too worried about our stuff, our feelings, and our own kingdom to be bothered with God’s.
Have you ever been in a situation where it was obvious that you didn’t belong? When I travel internationally, I’m keenly aware that I often stand out like a sore thumb. Whether it’s my American accent or my physical appearance, however welcoming the culture might be, it’s apparent that I’m far from home.
Similarly, as a Christian in the world today, if sometimes you feel like you don’t belong, you’re right — you don’t. You are a sojourner, on your way home. Followers of Christ are merely visitors passing through this world on our way to our Heavenly home. As such, God has called us to abide in His Word, fix our gaze on His eternal Kingdom, and resist being distracted by the allure of this foreign land.
Abide in Christ and Delight in His Word
In Psalm 119:19-20, the Psalmist accurately and passionately proclaims: “I am a sojourner on the earth; Hide not your commandments from me; My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.” In John 6, when Jesus asked the twelve if they wanted to join a group of disciples who had turned away, Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (vs. 68)
Like these sojourners who came before us, we ought to be fully consumed with a longing for God’s rules. What else on this earth could be more valuable or treasured than the words of the God of the Universe, the King of Kings? God has given us a glimpse of our eternal home through His commands. His words being withheld from us would be equivalent to spending a long time abroad without any indication of where we are or how to get there. Let's pray that we develop a homesick longing and deeper love for Scripture. While we await our eternity in Heaven, God’s Word will be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.
Don’t Get Entangled in Civilian Pursuits
As temporary residents here, we are to store up our treasures in Christ, not in this perishing world. Our minds, our hearts, and our actions should be wholly consumed with the business of our Father. For our joy and for His Glory, the Bible spells this out in numerous commandments – pray without ceasing, hide God’s Word in your heart, treasure the Kingdom, eat the bread of life, and drink the blood of His covenant.
In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he describes us as soldiers and succinctly reminds us that “no soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” (vs.4). A real sojourner doesn’t get distracted by even the sweetest treasures that the foreign land has to offer – he knows that his real treasure is found in the Kingdom of God. 1 Peter 2:11 tells us “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” Earlier in verses 9-10, Peter tells us why: “… you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
Nothing in this foreign land where we sojourn is sweeter, richer or finer than our savior Jesus Christ. Don’t be distracted by the sideshow.
Obey the Lord through an Outpouring of Love to the World around You
The work that Christ accomplished on the cross, and the grace and mercy extended to us as sinners worthy of nothing more than an eternity in hell, should grow inside of us a love and passion for nothing other than the renown of His name.
I’ve often heard the phrase “don’t be so heavenly-minded that you’re no earthly good.” While I understand the sentiment here, it’s a dangerously unbiblical idea that for many, could divert them far from the narrow road. Matthew 13:44 tells us, “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
We are to sell, in joy, all that we have and buy the field – we’re sojourners! There is no love apart from Christ, there is no life apart from Christ and there is no joy apart from Christ. Unless we are 100% heavenly-minded and treasure God above all, the simple fact is that we will be of no earthly good – too worried about our stuff, our feelings, and our own kingdom to be bothered with God’s.
Live Like the Homesick Sojourner
The Bible tells of many sojourners, or strangers traveling in a foreign land. Adam and Eve became sojourners after they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Abraham was a sojourner, called out of the land of the Chaldeans to the land that the Lord promised him. The Israelites sojourned in Egypt for many years. This pattern and symbol of sojourning echoes throughout Scripture, with an ultimate crescendo in the incarnation of Jesus Christ Himself – the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Isaiah 53 tells us that “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed Him not” (vs. 3). Jesus walked the earth as a sojourner, and like the Israelites in the wilderness, we are all temporary residents of this earth, in a dry and weary land. We do not belong here. Store up your treasures in Heaven, abide in God’s Word, and obey Him through an outpouring of love to the world around you who is perishing and running in a full sprint toward an eternity in hell. Live like the homesick sojourner.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Uwe Moser
Brandon Harvath, a homeschooling father of seven, serves as Chief Administrative Officer for Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
