From Beside the Still Waters...
The Foreigner: Read - 1 Peter 2
"Ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." - Ephesians 2:19
It was at Lisbon, that I first experienced the new and somewhat uncomfortable status of being a foreigner. The language was incomprehensible, and the culture was a mixture of strange customs, values, and traditions. Although there were new and interesting sights to see, I always felt out of place. It was a relief to return home and live among people whose language and customs were familiar.
As time passed, however, I became increasingly aware that the customs, traditions, language, and moral values that I had been taught as a child were rapidly changing. I could identify with the English author L. P. Hartley, who wrote, "The past is a foreign country. They do things differently." As I endeavored to live in the values and customs of the past, I once again felt like a foreigner, this time in my own country.
Eventually, responding in faith to the call of Christ resulted in my third experience as a foreigner, one that continues to this day. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:17-18).
Although awkward, difficult, and trying at times, this kind of foreign life is rewarded with joy, peace, and victory unmatched by any other citizenship. Jesus Himself was a foreigner in His own land, and He lived with misunderstanding and hostility. Still, Jesus told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9) - and so it is! May we all strive to be faithful foreigners in the land where God has placed us.
Pete Lewis - Halsey, OR
Today's Bible verse on my perpetual calendar:
"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits."
Psalm 103:2 KJV
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