We are but foreigners here

​May 23, 2020
Today’s devotion is based on 1 Peter 1:17, “Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.”
Live as foreigners? It can’t mean that, because Jesus wants people to care about each other in a big way. He even wants us to love our enemies.
The idea of living our lives as foreigners, then, has to mean something else. And when you take a look at how Jesus and his disciples lived their lives on this earth, you pick up a pretty good sense of what this verse means. To live as foreigners here means to live our lives knowing that our real home is somewhere else.
You and I forget this all the time. And because we do, we are filled with fear. We fear that if our life here does not meet our expectations and become a big success story, then our life is a failure. And you know what? For forgetting that our true home is in heaven, for living our lives for the here and now, we deserve that fear and a whole lot worse.
But Jesus’ life and death have washed us clean of those failures. And once again, he calls upon us to remember that our life here is not about making our mark. It’s about walking with him in faith. And so, live here as a foreigner, for this is not our eternal home. Jesus is coming soon to take you home.
Please pray with me the prayer for today: Heavenly Father, creator, and sustainer of all things, seen and unseen, thank you for sending your son, Jesus, to wash all of my sins on the cross. Forgive me for the times I am fearful about this life and forget about true life in heaven. Remind me always of my heavenly home. I pray this in Jesus’ name.  Amen.