August 30 - Aliens and Strangers on Earth

August 30 - Aliens and Strangers on Earth
Psalm 119:19; Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 2:11

I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. (Psalm 119:19)

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. (Hebrews 11:13)

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. (1 Peter 2:11)

Is it any wonder we yearn for something more than what we have right now?  Understanding that we don’t actually belong here is part of our very nature as part of God’s kingdom. A restlessness for something more than the mundane life we live, something more than pain and stress, tears and death.  We search for home, no matter how settled we are in our lives.

We will never be satisfied, because we are not meant to be satisfied here.  The problem isn’t that we can’t be, but that we don’t know how to handle this dissatisfaction. We can fill it with material things or friends or lovers, food, drugs or drink; but until we understand that it is something so much greater than what earthly things can offer, we will always look to satisfying our earthly desires as the ultimate goal.

Dorothy’s search for home took her away from a place and a people that would have given her everything.  After she killed the wicked with, she could have had anything, if she had just stayed in Munchkinland. They were so very willing to offer her any possible desire in their gratitude.  The place was absolutely beautiful, the people were terrific, she should have been happy.  But, she wasn’t.  She knew that home was somewhere else.  The only thing that mattered was that she begin making the journey that would take her home.  She left all of the beauty and the people and potential happiness behind as she took off, alone, to see the Wizard who would get her home.

We are aliens and strangers in this land.  We must understand that we will never be satisfied down deep in our soul until we finally reach home.  We can pretty it up with beautiful locations and wonderful people, but when we look out at our lives, the only true satisfaction we will ever find is the moment we get home.