"You're a Foreigner"

Let's suppose someone said this to you. Not in an accusing or rude manner, but as a true statement.

"Foreigner" is not really on anyone’s top ten list of words to put on their own resume. The i-before-e-except-after-c concept even breaks down for this word.

Unfortunately, this word has gained a negative connotation.

Let's change that.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with being a foreigner. 😁

So, what compels someone to become one?

In my case, the Holy Spirit called me to it.

But the biblical answer to that question is broader than most people realize.
According to the Apostle Peter, Christianity means embracing life as a foreigner.
Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. (1 Peter 2:11 NLT)

Biblically, Christian = foreigner.

Temporary residents too. Praise the Lord for that!

Thank you Peter for breaking it to us gently. 🙏

This makes the temporary resident and foreigner population considerably higher than we think. After all, we are ambassadors and representatives of a different nation. Revelation 5:10, in a similar line of thinking, grants the title "priest" to all Christians.

Clearly we are not representatives of merely "(insert your hometown here)". Praise God if we serve our country well. But, it isn't our aim to promote another kingdom. It's our passion to lift high God's own domain.

Jesus is King. (Have fun criticizing Kanye's latest album without saying that.)

In my case, people place my demeanor and worldview into their current template for ‘US Citizen’.

It's not my whole picture, or the most important one.

Let’s pray friends and co-workers know our lives well enough to copy us bold and beautiful onto their ‘disciple of Jesus’ templates first.

We should exemplify the most attractive life of all lives. Jesus' example certainly is.
The Kingdom of God operates on a very foreign set of values:

• Love your enemies, pray for them.
• Anyone who tries to find their life will lose it, anyone who loses their life for Jesus' sake will find it.
• The last will be first.
• Servants are the greatest in the Kingdom of God.
• Rejoice when you're being persecuted for following Jesus.
• There's many more like these!

These values are a major solution to the most significant problems foreign missionaries address in Japan.

The community of believers and their testimonies haven't reached the hearts of most Japanese people yet. There are a few reasons for this.

Look forward to a more detailed explanation of those reasons in the coming weeks!

What do you think is the most foreign thing about being a Christian?