“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)
In 1961, Robert A. Heinlein published a science fiction novel called STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND. The story followed a young man, born on Mars and raised by Martians who was suddenly thrust into a society that is foreign. The book deals with his struggle to find himself among a race of people with whom he shares little except a physical resemblance.
While this book is of course a man made story, there are similarities to our walk as Christians. Once we are saved, the world around us takes on a different quality. We find many things that go on around us on TV, in the media, etc. that just don’t line up with how Christ tells us to live our lives. Our values change, yet we are also told to “be in the world but not of the world” so we can’t just stick our heads in the sand! That is precisely what many of us decide to do, however.
Students of the Word know that this is all to be expected. We are told that we will live in a society composed of fallen men and women, and it will continue in moral decay until God intervenes after removing the Church.
The fact that sinners behave as heathens should come as no surprise: It has been so since the Fall. BUT what has changed is the intensity of the opposition to the things of God. There are events happening all around us that never would have taken place in open society just a few decades ago. Sin has moved from deeds done in the dark to not only being done openly but forcing us to accept and condone them as normal.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12)
We are indeed strangers in a strange place. We were created to be here for a short time – eternity is where our home lies and for those who call ourselves followers of Christ. What are we to do then in this strange world?
“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (II Cor. 5:20)
We must remember our place and calling – we are ambassadors for Christ! An ambassador is a representative from one country to another. As ambassadors of Christ, we are His representatives to a fallen world, a position that requires that we live among strangers.
Let’s return to Peter in the very next verse I started this post with – he provides the solution for how we approach our daily lives:
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” (1 Peter 2:12)
Live your life remembering WHO you represent. Seek opportunities to share what He has done for you. Often times there are people we come across throughout our day that we don’t realize are watching us and what we do. Many times they want to see if our walk matches our talk, so make sure your life reflects Christ in all you do and say so that you someday may have an opening to share the gospel with them.
(DISCLAIMER: I read several sources, commentaries, devotionals, etc., when I study the bible. Some of what I write is heavily inspired by what I read, and some sections may not be all my own words. I try to distill and paraphrase but there are way too many great writers who know the depths of God’s Word more than I ever will. I try to give credit where possible, and I don’t want anyone to think that everything I write comes straight from my brain – it’s all inspired by God and others He has chosen to write through. I encourage you to look to those who have also studied and written about Scripture, while at the same time remembering they are only men, and the ONLY true standard is the Word of God – everything written by me or any other human MUST be measured against that standard.)
Dead Man Walking 
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