I’ve just
concluded a study of Peter’s first letter to the church. He wrote it from Rome to churches that were
facing persecution in Turkey and southern Asia.
I have Christian friends in those same places, and many of them are
dealing with degrees of persecution because they are Christians. Their faith in
Christ puts them at greater risk than people who profess faith in Islam or
other religions in those regions. I was
reading it as if Peter were writing to my friends today, and I found it
contained so much encouragement and spiritual direction for them and for me.
I
especially liked the way Paul closed his letter. Formerly he thought Christ only came to save
Jewish people, but it was revealed to him early on that Jesus came for Jews
first and then for the whole world. In his
concluding remarks Peter mentions Babylon as chosen by God too. Most believe that this was a reference to
Rome—the World Government of his time. That Babylon was chosen can also be a
reference to God having chosen the whole world, not just one nation. No matter
your nationality, you are included in God’s great work of salvation through
faith in Jesus Christ His Son.
Once you
have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you are no longer identified by the country
in which you are born, reside, or hold a passport. Your true country is heaven. Peter begins his letter by calling all
Christians, those who are His elect exiles (1 Peter 1:1). We do not belong to a certain country of
earth. We belong to heaven. Heaven is our true home, our true
country.
Those of
us who are Americans are faced with the task of electing leaders to guide our
nation. As Christians we are seeking to
vote for those who will uphold Godly standards by honoring life, family, and freedom
to worship, while at the same time respecting that God has given us a free will. Our goal is to do what we can to lead a quiet
life that allows us to honor God and spread the good news of His love for the
whole world. We vote this way because we
are: a chosen race, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may
proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you
had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (1 Peter 2:9-10).
Our
true country is heaven, so we live in exile here with the standards of heaven
in our hearts and minds. As citizens of
heaven, we should be shining light in the country in which we live. Our light shines through the way we show love
in our countries that are so devoid of love.
Our light shines in the way we share the mercy that we have received
from God, which is freely given to all who come to Him.
I
am proud to be an American. I take my
responsibility to vote and contribute to my community as a responsibility that
I am accountable to God to fulfill. I
know that my country is chosen by God as Peter proclaimed about Rome. No country on this earth is my home. I am an alien and exile on earth. My true country is heaven. I am assigned to America as an Ambassador to
those people God sends to me.
Copyright © 2016. Deborah R Newman teatimeforyoursoul.com All Rights Reserved.
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