“Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it.” – 1 Peter 2:11 (MSG)#ThrowbackThursday — This post originally published July 1, 2010.
On a recent trip I watched people coming and going from the hotel where we spent the night. It was morning and it was apparent we were there for different reasons. Some dressed for a wedding; some carried baseball equipment for a tournament game; and some were on their way to a family reunion. Some were there for a brief stay and checked out that morning while others were there for an extended period of time. While many of us headed in different directions, the one thing we had in common was that for one night we all shared this temporary home.
Life in this world is a lot like that hotel. We all share this temporary residence called earth. Like the hotel, we come and go each day for different activities and events like work, weddings, school, ball games and family reunions. Some of us are here for a brief stay while others will stay for an extended period of time. No matter how hard we try to make this hotel feel like home, we cannot deny the fact that it is a temporary residence. One day we will all check out and stand before God.
As Christians, it’s easy to get caught up in this world and act as if this hotel we call earth is our permanent home. When we do that, we attempt to build a palace for ourselves on earth instead of focusing on building God’s eternal kingdom. I Peter 2:11-12 tells us “Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives (MSG).”
If we start thinking this hotel called earth is our permanent home, we risk investing our lives in things that will not last. We become vested in the world. 1 John 2:15 warns us to not “love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.”
We must get to the mindset that our real home is with Christ, a mindset that focuses on living for Christ and not ourselves. This is the mindset that helps point the way for others to walk with Christ to our eternal home. As Paul reminds us in 2 Cor. 5:6-7, “So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
© 2010 CGThelen
140 Character Christian 
I like that analogy. Living on this earth is like living in a motel. It’s our temporary home. We need to remember our REAL home is in Heaven … and this is the place we get to help others realize that certainty, too. God bless you!
Good point on helping others see that this life is temporal, that our true home is with Christ Jesus.
What a good word! Especially like the translation you chose for the truth in I Peter. Our light will shine so differently if we’ve got this mindset. Thanks…
Thanks. Keeping the right perspective in this world can be challenging, but is so important.
Really appreciate the comparisons you’re drawing up. Draws my thinking to a creative level and makes me explore what I believe about your topic. I’m reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan and it’s a challenging read, somewhat along the same lines: don’t depend on your stuff and be free to part with it (and your life!) in a way that reflects total commitment to your King. He draws the analogy of joining the military, figuring that the Marines would not let him make up the rules to suit his comfort level each day. When we follow our Lord, the same is true. Calls for complete focus on the kingdom to come. It’s a short, but challenging read. You can find him on youtube as well.
That’s a great analogy about the marines. What is our level of commitment to the Lord? What am I willing to sacrifice for the Kingdom of God? The book sounds good. I will add that to my reading list.