Strangers in a Strange Land - Pt. 1

 

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. (Hebrews 8-10 ESV).

 

Some years ago I was privileged to travel to the Ukraine. I was enlisted to be a part of a group of ministers to do evangelism and pastoral training. My specific task involved traveling to five different “districts” to train local pastors in family/marriage counseling. I was also able to preach in several of the local churches. Since I have no familiarity with the language, a seminary professor from the Odessa Baptist Theological Seminary accompanied me to translate. Since he was formally educated in Great Britain, he was fluent in both languages. We had a free day and walked the “business” district of Odessa. Coming to the corner you see in the picture included today I saw a semi-familiar sign. Yes, there was a McDonald’s in Odessa. There were no golden arches and I was told the menu was significantly different than here.

 

We also visited a grocery store to get bottled water to take with us to the districts. The more we walked the streets and looked at the surroundings, the more I realized how different I was from everyone around me. I was a stranger in a strange land. There were many other differences I won’t detail today, though I did find it easier to adapt to my surroundings as the week progressed. In some cases I made some minor changes to fit in a bit better.

 

Today’s reading recalls the same experience through Abraham. He was a strange, a traveler through the land looking for the “home” he had been promised by God. In many ways we are such a people as believers. We are a people who cross borders as strangers in this world. We are strangers or sojourners here, moving toward a destination beyond this world. While we are created to live here and care about the creation God has given us. We are called to be in the world, though not of the world. Jesus said: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19 ESV). In the coming days I will be using the devotionals to remind us what that looks like in our daily lives. Today, I hope you will be encouraged in your journey. We do have a home waiting for us. The trip is often a struggle, but the final destination is more than worth the trouble!