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Pilgrim's Pride
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word pilgrim? The Mayflower at Plymouth Rock? Thanksgiving decorations? Belt-buckle hats? Maybe even John Wayne?
The point is, we rarely think of ourselves as pilgrims. Yet the Bible uses this word as one of the many figures to describe the people of God. We are aliens, strangers, sojourners, and exiles on the earth. We are pilgrims. All of these words express the idea of someone on a journey, passing through a land in which they do not belong.
We certainly don’t have any trouble singing about our pilgrimage. “Here, we are but straying pilgrims...” “While we walk the pilgrim pathway...” But we must come to embrace this concept and its effect on our daily living. Being a pilgrim has a direct influence on...
Who we are. “These all died in faith... and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Heb. 11:13). Having described the faith of Abel, Enoch, and Noah, the writer of Hebrews makes a startling observation about Abraham. “By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob” (11:9). While people around him built houses and cities, Abraham built altars to God and lived in a tent, a temporary dwelling. Even in the land God promised to give him and his descendants, he confessed that he was a pilgrim.
We must not be ashamed to make a similar confession about who we are: strangers and exiles. Everything about us should testify about our temporary status. We’re on a journey. We can’t get too bogged down with earthly possessions. We are not interested in settling down and staying here. We are pilgrims. It’s who we are.
Why we’re here. When the apostle Peter wrote his first epistle, he did not address it to a specific church or individual. He wrote to a certain kind of people. “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Pet. 1:1). These Christians were “of the Dispersion,” a scattering that occurred in the First Century because of persecution. But instead of hiding their lights when they left Jerusalem, they continued to shine them in the regions of Asia Minor.
Our purpose here is not to form a secluded colony somewhere or live in isolation in the woods. Else, how would the lost ever come to know the Lord? We can be in the world and still not be of the world. And just because we are passing through does not mean we are to pass up opportunities to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Wherever we are scattered, we are to take the gospel with us. It’s why God put us where we are.
What we’re doing. In the same letter, Peter wrote, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles” (1 Pet. 2:11-12). The word abstain means “avoid” or “hold oneself completely back from.” The persecutions of the day were not to be responded to in kind. By keeping themselves separate, the First Century church would maintain the purity and holiness of the Lord’s body. And in so doing, they would win over some who slandered them as evildoers.
God has always demanded that His people be separate from the world. Some will call us “strange” and “peculiar.” But others may be so impressed by our response to persecution and trials that they will want what we have: a peace that surpasses all understanding. No matter what others do to us, we must keep doing what we’re doing.
Where we’re going. Abraham was content to be a stranger and a pilgrim on the earth. “For he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10). He kept his faith in God, trusting in His promises, and waited for the day when he would be at home his Lord. The sojourner would become the resident.
“Christians who make a difference in the world are the ones who think more of the next world” (C.S. Lewis). The next world is the end of our journey. Traveling days will be over. It is the place we had in view when we first started out. It is where we will hear the sweet words of “welcome.” And we can stay forever. Nothing in the world should get in the way on our way there.
When I count my many blessings on Thursday, I will be sure to include my pilgrimage. Without the journey, there would be no final destination.
