“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.”    – I Peter 2:11

Peter wrote to the Church during a time of hardship.  Government-sponsored persecution had driven many Christians out of the cities.  They were reviled by their neighbors and the religious structures of their day.  The world was grim, and the news kept getting worse.  Sound familiar?  The world is once again a grim place politically, financially, and morally.  But God’s Word reminds us of these truths:

1) This world is not my home.  Satan directs the lives of most people on the planet, and they don’t even know it.  They do what is self-serving.  But because of Christ Jesus, a Christian is fundamentally different.  We live for Him and have the promise of Heaven.  The lost are not the enemy.  We are called to win them to Christ by living for Christ.  We are missionaries in a foreign land – even at home.

2) This country is not my home.  As proud as I am to be a citizen of the United States of America, my first loyalty is to the Kingdom of God.  It would break my heart to see freedom fail in America, but my hope is not in earthly freedom.  My hope is in God’s eternal power.  I watch politics as an “interested outsider,” knowing that no matter who sits in Washington, Jesus is my true King.

3) This life is not my home.  I am not shackled to this life.  The most important things are not my house, my car, my job, or my land.  The most important thing is my family and their eternal relationship with Christ, but my family ultimately belongs to Him and not to me.  When we live for eternity, we are truly free.  I cannot control my life.  I have given control to Jesus.  If He called me to give it all up tomorrow, I hope I would be ready to do so.

Always remember as you watch the news:  “The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (I John 4:4)