Hebrews 11:13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

This certainly sounds very different from what is called the Prosperity Gospel! We tend to be fixated on the here and now, however much faith we claim to have, but Biblical faith is for now and for eternity. Paul put it this way: “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” (1 Corinthians 15:19) This ties in with what John said in 1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” If we weren’t so in love with the world, we would see far more of the power of God! God does not pick on us, and our life in this world is not to be despised in itself, but we’ve got to remember that the best this world can offer is trash compared with the riches that await us in heaven. There is a Christian song that puts it very well: “This world is not my home; I’m just a passin’ through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue … If heaven’s not my home, O Lord, what will I do?” I could go on and quote the whole song, but it it is a very accurate musical expression of the truth in this verse. We don’t like to feel like “aliens and strangers!” However, as it says so concisely in Philippians 3:20, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” That needs to be our mindset to walk in the abundance of all that God intends for us, in this world and the next.

As a child of American missionaries in Japan, this way of thinking has perhaps come more naturally to me than to most, but I can’t say that I don’t have a desire to belong where I am, wherever that is. In fact, one of the most painful things for me over the years has been the refusal of most Japanese to accept me as anything other than an “alien and stranger.” I currently have permanent residency in Japan (even though it would have been easier, given my background, for me to get citizenship) because it would be all the more painful not to be accepted as Japanese if I had citizenship. It’s not so hard for me to “long for a better country – a heavenly one,” as it says in verse 16. At the same time, I do enjoy living! Yesterday I seem to have hurt my back, and I suddenly started showing symptoms of atopic dermatitis, which I’ve never had before. Both are painful! I am not to focus on the problems but rather on Christ, knowing that compared with what awaits me, any troubles I could possibly have here are “light and momentary.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Father, from the news and from my own experience I am certainly reminded of what Jesus said in John 16:33: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” I do pray for the people who have been so devastated by the recent tornadoes. Thank You that many are Your children, and are expressing their faith even under these circumstances. I pray Your grace on them all, and on all Your children around the world, that we may all lift our eyes to Christ and walk in the peace and joy that You intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!