Pilgrims' Progress

What image pops into your mind when you hear the word "pilgrims"?  Do you think of the folks who came over on the Mayflower ship in 1620? Do you visualize them gathered around their Thanksgiving feast with the natives who assisted them in their quest for new homes and religious freedom?

Do you visualize the scenes from the old book, Pilgrim's Progress? It's the second best-selling book of all time.....second only to the Bible. But do many people read it nowadays?
This week we will study the pilgrim life.... the concept that we are just passing through this life, and journeying toward heaven. We've talked about it before, but we will do a deeper dive this time, because Peter does, in our verses:

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (I Peter 2:11-12)

The old saying, "It's a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there," comes to mind....we are only in this world for a short time. Are we too interested in putting down roots? It's perfectly natural for us to think about the present....our marriages, raising our kids, succeeding in our chosen careers, overcoming personal problems, etc.  And heaven is a really nice perk at the end of the ride -- but it's not our focus. We naturally want to enjoy life and cling to it as long as we are able. But as believers, I think we should view death not as an ending, but as the gateway to everything we have been living for! We're pilgrims!
Here's another verse to cogitate on as we begin this week's study:

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. (I Corinthians 15:19)

I truly believe that we should enjoy God and the blessings that He freely bestows on us in this life. No long faces here! But if we don't hold the things of this life fairly loosely in our hands, and if we aren't focused on God and on being in heaven with Him as our ultimate goal.... my, what a shallow faith we have!  If we're just living for the good life, how can we expect to endure persecution? How can we withstand temptation? The only thing that can steel us to endure suffering and to seek holiness in the midst of the wickedness of this world is to live as pilgrims -- we are bound for heaven!

What does Peter have for us here? Surely he has written something to help us.....
I think first, Peter would want us to have our minds in the right place: to adopt a certain attitude that will help us. He says, "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers..."(AMP). Here's our mindset: we are beloved by God, and we are strangers here on this earth.
Here is something extra that we might not usually consider: the earth is under the dominion of Satan, so we are not only foreigners, we are on "enemy turf"!! Let us not forget that!
What a precious truth, that we are beloved by God. The whole reason that we are out of "sync" with the world is that we are the objects of God's redeeming love in Jesus Christ. His love is unfathomable; Paul even calls it indescribable. The fact that God loved me enough to send His precious Son to die for my sins should motivate me to endure anything for the few years I'm here!
And it really is just a few years, ya know? (Grin)

If we were to travel to a foreign country, we wouldn't live according to the customs and standards there. Well, to avoid offending the natives we might temporarily adopt some of their customs, but it's just short-term. If one is traveling in China for business, one must carefully examine a client's business card and seem impressed -- not just slip it in a notebook or a pocket and keep chatting. Or if one is at dinner and needs a toothpick, it should be concealed in the fingers and palm. But when back home, we revert to our routine ways and customs. Now, as citizens of heaven, we may adopt some of the earthly ways, as long as they are not contradictory to God's ways. But most of the time we are living by completely different standards, found in His Word.

Travelers don't get super-attached to the country they are passing through, either. They have a destination in mind, and they know how long they'll be "on the road." They are looking forward to getting to their destination. If they pass through a wonderfully scenic area, they will take a few photos and enjoy the beauty, but they won't move there permanently. If they find a nice hotel, they will spend a few nights there, but they don't start rearranging the furniture and hanging family photos on the walls.

I wonder if the amazing advancements in modern medicine have shifted our focus from being aliens? The wonderful medical treatments that are available today help us to recover from injuries and illnesses.....but perhaps the reality of death is not as close to us as it was to people in earlier centuries. It was not uncommon in the 1600s and 1700s to have lost the majority of one's children very early in their lives, or to lose a spouse at a young age, compared to today.
I'm not trying to be morbid, but I think it fits with our truths here....we are aliens and strangers here on earth, and we are headed toward heaven. Perhaps our attitude should reflect that more than it does....we won't be here long, since our home is in heaven.
Are we living like it?