They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. John 17:16
“For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. The course of conduct which they follow has not been devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines. But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life. They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners.
As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives.
They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honour; they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred.
To sum up all in one word — what the soul is in the body, Christians are in the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not of the world.”
The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus, 5-6 (c. 130). Mathetes, “a disciple of the Apostles,” was likely a student of Paul or one of the Apostle’s associates. Special thanks to my dear friend John Stanley for sharing this with me. I posted a portion of this back in 2015, and shared a larger excerpt today from Egypt where I shot this photo of the Red Sea at sunrise.
Notice the beautiful simplicity and generous lifestyle celebrated here. The early church Christians lived as sojourners in this world. Likewise, let us be people who pass our days on earth as citizens of heaven. Let us enrich the lives of others, and always repay evil with good. Don’t get comfortable here as you were made for heaven.
As a frequent traveler, this post was especially meaningful for me. I have come to realize that Christians dispersed everywhere in the world are my brothers and sisters. My prayer is that our interaction helps them live like sojourners who show there’s more to life for than what this world offers through their words and actions.