Strangers ...

First Peter 1

Strangers in the World …

It didn’t take long for a phrase to jump out at me as I began reading the very first chapter of the first of two letters written by Peter.  As he’s addressing his letter to the followers of Jesus who’ve been scattered throughout the regions he’s listed, he refers to them as “strangers in the world.”  It’s not a description I tend to use when talking about other Christians.  My go to imagery tends to be that of a family of faith, while “strangers in the world,” seems a little … strange.

Why call them (and us) “strangers in the world”?  I tend to think of a stranger as someone who has arrived in a particular place, and yet doesn’t quite fit in.  The stranger isn’t at home there – at least not yet.  Even if the person has a reason to be there, he or she is still not used to the customs and culture of that new location.  For me, feeling like a stranger has been most pronounced when we’ve traveled to other countries and I try to get my bearings. In that circumstance, I really have felt like a “stranger in a strange land.”

One time in particular, when we went to France for the first time to celebrate our 25^th anniversary and spend time with Anette’s brother, his wife and their daughter, I had that sense of being a stranger when we landed.  The metro line headed out to the airport was down, so her brother was very late arriving at the airport.  We landed, de-boarded, got our luggage and had no idea what to do or where to go.  We were left standing in the airport – tired and feeling helpless – like strangers in this world.

And yet Peter doesn’t uses the term, “stranger in the world” in a negative way. There is no sense of feeling lost, abandoned or fearful.  It’s as though he’s saying that we should not get so comfortable in this world, that we forget that we’re only passing through this land.  As great a feeling as coming back “home” after a long trip might be, this place is still only temporary.  We have a home for which our hearts yearn – a place for which we are destined.  So Peter’s reminding us not to become so accustomed to life in this world, that we give up the promise of the life in a world yet to come.

Let me tell you, my brothers and sisters in Christ (notice the family talk), that Peter’s phrase connects deep within me.  On one hand, there are times I experience the brokenness of this world up close and personal and I find myself longing for that “home” Jesus is preparing (John 14).  Or I look upon a culture running so counter to God’s ways, and I once again feel like that helpless stranger in a strange land. 

But perhaps the more troubling thought within my chest is that deep down, I know I’m pretty comfortable in this world.  I speak fluent culture and my moments of feeling like a stranger in a strange land are few and far between.

So it is little wonder that Peter uses this phrase and then has them (and us) focus on the ultimate stranger in a strange land.  This same Jesus who left heaven to come to earth, is the same Jesus who came to bring us a greater inheritance – a promise of a home beyond this home – a hope and a joy that only He can give.  By the time Peter has described all that Jesus came to do for us, suddenly the phrase makes total sense.  We are strangers in this world, but one day, we will be strangers no more.