May the mumbling commence!
Are you at home where you are
living? Or are you a resident alien
looking forward to the final completion of the kingdom of God? As Christians, we are called to be resident
aliens. How are we to be resident aliens
in the place where we are? Let’s get
some clues from Isaiah chapter fifty-two:
This is what the Sovereign Lord says: "Long ago my people went to live as resident foreigners in Egypt. Now they
have been oppressed without cause by Assyria.
And now, what is this?" asks the Lord.
"Why are
my people enslaved again? Those who rule
them shout in exultation. My name is being blasphemed all day long. But I will
reveal my name to my people, and they will come to know its power. Then at last
they will recognize that it is I who speaks to them."
How beautiful on
the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and salvation, the
news that the God of Israel reigns! The watchmen shout and sing with joy, for before
their very eyes they see the Lord
bringing his people home to
Jerusalem. Let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song, for the Lord has comforted his people. He has redeemed
Jerusalem. The Lord will demonstrate his holy power before the eyes of all the nations. The ends of the
earth will see the salvation of our God.
Go now, leave your bonds and slavery. Put Babylon behind
you, with everything it represents, for it is unclean to you. You are the Lord's
holy people. Purify yourselves, you who carry home the vessels of the Lord.
You will not leave in a hurry, running for your lives. For the Lord will go ahead of you, and the God
of Israel will protect you from behind. (Verses 4-12)
Yes, it’s clear. We are resident aliens here on earth. If we act as aliens to this world and live by
the Spirit’s guidance, we will see enslavement and persecution… sooner or later. And the people of the world will shout in
exaltation and celebrate our seeming demise.
But the Lord will prevail. To fight against the Lord is the definition
of futility. Bring that good news of God’s
reign and have beautiful feet.
Peace and salvation are in the Lord’s
hands. God gives them freely to anyone
who comes. Shout it out. Sing it joyfully. Comfort is ours through the Lord. We are redeemed. We are saved.
Halleluiah!
How do we respond? How do we act as resident aliens? Leave the bonds of slavery behind… slavery to
hoarding… slavery to fame… slavery to fortune… slavery to
self-gratification. Leave these bonds
behind and those like them. They are the
epitome of Babylon wherever you live.
Make a clean break, for you are
holy… set apart for God’s work. Purify
yourselves, and go boldly to the Lord’s path and the Lord’s work. Do not be afraid. God not only leads us but He will be our rear
guard. We have nothing to fear if we
seek the Lord’s will for our lives. The
alternative is grim. Read from the end
of Revelation chapter twenty:
And I saw a great white throne, and I saw the one who was
sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no
place to hide. I
saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books
were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to the things written in the books, according to what they had done. The sea gave up the dead in it, and death and
the grave gave up the dead in them. They
were all judged according to their deeds.
And death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the
second death – the lake of fire. And anyone whose name was not found
recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Verses
11-15)
Judgment according to deeds… it’s a
scary thought. Thank God for the work of
Jesus! Without Jesus, we would be
confined to the lake of fire and suffer from separation from the Lord God… to
whom we were created to be in right relationship with.
What horror! May we choose well.
Enough mumbling for now… Peace Out
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