Friday, December 15, 2023

"Strangers & Exiles on the Earth" (Hebrews 11:13)

I read the passage from Hebrews 11 for my evening devotion. I was struck by a number of verses, "God has prepared for them a city". An unseen, unknown and unreachable city, humanly speaking. No wonder one needs faith like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So much of our time is taken up to take care of our earthly interests. Where we live, what cars we drive, what cloth we wear, how many gadgets we own and the list goes on, but do we dwell in tents like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? It speaks of the impermanence of this world, the transient nature of life. When I come to "strangers and exiles on earth", I was given a massive boost in my spirit. I am preparing to move for my 22nd or 23rd time in the last 30 years.

Not easy to uproot once settled into anything or in a certain place. But there is no permanent place here on earth. My moving about and departing from one place to another is a sign that I am looking for a city, not of this world but the eternal city which maker is God himself. It is not unlike Jesus promising that there are many rooms/dwellings in my Father's house and He has gone there to prepare a place for us. But it requires faith, seeing the invisible and entrusting our lives into the hands of the invisible God. "Prepare fully for the field" (Pro 24:27 LXX). I may be returning to the mission filed. Health permitting, I may still have 5 or 10 good years of moving from one place to another. It is just my life, a life devoted to God to forsake the security of this world, and to walk by faith, and looking towards the heavenly city, my eternal dwelling place with God - Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

No comments:

Post a Comment