1 Peter 2:11-20
Peter tells us that we are pilgrims and sojourners. Pilgrims and sojourners was the word for foreigners who travelled through someone else’s land. That’s what we are. Christians travel through the world, not as people who live here, but as people who are passing through to a better land. So, we don’t need to be attached to the things of this world. Whatever we see, it’s not as important as the place we are going.
The first Christians may have used this radical message to try to get out of their worldly obligations. The gospel was a radical message. They believed the old divisions mattered. They believed that the division between male and female wasn’t just in their DNA. It was in the quality of their character based on their sex. Slaves were lower levels of humans than free people. Foreigners had no rights. These divisions mattered.In the gospel, for the first time, God makes all people equal. There are no Jews or Gentiles, no slaves or freemen, no male and female, because all people are one in Christ.
It could be easy to take that to the extreme. If all are equal in Christ, then there should be no divisions in our duties. No rulers or subjects. No police. No teachers. Everyone is equal. Peter reminds them that the world works differently than the kingdom of God. While we travel through this world, we need to follow its rules. Honor the laws. Fulfill your duties.
We have learned the opposite lesson. Most of us are so focused on the ways of this world that we forget to focus on our real heavenly home. So, we get caught up in our jobs. We get so angry at our coworkers when they’re lazy or our bosses are jerks. Why should that matter to us? It will all fade away. Why are we so concerned about securing our children’s future that we place their events before their education in Christ? Wouldn’t it be better to starve than turn away from Christ. This world will go away, but our eternal home is eternal.