Posts Tagged: resident aliens

“Sojourning with God”

On February 23, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer


            “Hear my prayer, O LORD,

                        and give ear to my cry;

                        hold not your peace at my tears!

             For I am a sojourner with you,

                        a guest, like all my fathers. (Psa. 39:12)

 “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me.” (Leviticus 25:23)

“For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding.” (1 Chronicles 29:15)

We often speak of the Land of Canaan being “given” to Israel.  This is both true and false.  Or, at least, it is the truth, but not the whole truth.

The truth is that the Israelites never owned the land.  As the three Old Testament verses quoted at the beginning of this post indicate, the Israelites were always to realize that they were sojourners, resident aliens if you will.

I wonder if this might help to inform our current debate about resident, illegal immigrants in our midst.  How might it change things if we realized that we are all resident aliens?

Of course, there are other, more personal reasons for me to be kind to resident aliens.  My ancestors came from eastern France and Ireland.  Were they legal immigrants?  I very much doubt it.  My people were poor.  I am not simply the descendant of immigrants.  I am likely the descendant of people who were here illegally.  I am reminded of the American Indian in Arizona, who was listening to some of the locals bad-mouthing illegal immigrants.  “They should all just go home,” said one Anglo resident.  “I agree,” said the Indian.

Yes, God gives us many good things.  Yes, I believe in “home ownership.”  However, I put “home ownership” in quotes because it is a highly questionable, tentative thing.  If nothing else, death will put an end to my illusion to my ownership of anything—including life itself.  A very wealthy person died.  One of his acquaintances asked a friend of his, “How much did he leave?”  His friend replied with one word: “Everything!”

But the good news is that God is a sojourner with us.  Or, rather, we sojourn with God.  Holding things lightly doesn’t mean that we take things lightly.  It might mean that we would be freed up to enjoy them more.  And I have discovered that things I enjoy, I also take pretty good care of.

I am in Florida right now.  In a few days, we will be leaving.  It has been a wonderful stay in a very nice rental home.  However, we have not mistaken it for home.  When we get to our “home” up north, it will be good for us to remember that that is not our ultimate home either.

I was once asked (in some kind of survey) if this was our “permanent residence.”  I answered, “No, we don’t have one.”  I thought it was a good answer at the time.  I haven’t changed my mind.

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