Not From Around Here

Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.

Philippians 1:27-30 

 

Did you know that we are not permanent residents of Earth?  We are merely aliens traveling on a tour for a while (if the Gilligan's Island theme song just hit your brain, stop and sing along).  

 

I remember hearing a story about a man from London who wanted to travel around the American South in the early 1900s.  On one of his ventures, he encountered some difficulty when his car ran out of gas.  He saw a farmer in his field and asked him where the next "petrol" station might be along this road....the farmer scratched his head and thought for several minutes and finally told the man it was about 8 miles up the road.  The Englishman began his trek and after some time later he arrived at a diner with a gas station attached.  To his surprise, his car was already there.  He went inside the diner and asked how his car managed to get to the station when the farmer said the nearest gas station was 8 miles away.  The man behind the counter said, "Ya'll ain't from around here, are you? It's 8 miles when you walk along the road, but when you take the logging trail it's only half a mile."

 

Several years ago, the Doobie Brothers did a song called "Rockin Down The Highway" which describes the freedom of the open road.

 

You see, we aren't from around here.  We are merely passing through.  And here's the main point I want you to remember, when it comes right down to the brass tacks:

 our disagreements don't really matter; 

our anger doesn't matter;

our hurts won't follow us;

our stuff won't go with us;

SO when we keep our eyes on the prize and remember that we are just passing through...we are free to live as Children of God!