Sojourners and Pilgrims

“In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
(2 Tim 4:8)

We’ve had many cats over the years, and as each of them got old enough and were no longer kittens, at some point they were introduced to the great outdoors. While they were mostly content to be indoor kitties, once they got outside, literally a whole new world opened up to them. The inside of the house was no longer their entire world.

One day we too will see that there is more to our existence than just this world. It seems hard to imagine now, but when eternity arrives the final phase of God’s creation, it will be well beyond what we can comprehend ir imagine. For now however we are “sojourners and pilgrims” on this earth (1 Pet.2:11).

• A sojourner is “one who lives as a foreigner in a strange land.”
• A pilgrim is one “who remains in a place but a short while, as a traveler on a journey.”

But if we aren’t careful we can think and act as if this is our only home! There is much to love in our world and wonderful memories that we make along the way.

But at the end of days it will all pass away.

As children of God we must be different and our focus must not be on the things of this world – our home, car, work, clothes, power, or prestige. But that is often easier said than done. We must “not be conformed to this world” (Rom.12: 2), but instead, we must “set our minds on and seek those things which are above” (Col.3: 1-2).

Listen to the words Albert Brumley, penned in 1937:

“This world is not my home, I’m just passing through,
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”