Do You Fit In?
Ever felt like you didn’t fit in? Have you gone somewhere and come to the conclusion “I don’t belong here?” Most of us have. I’ve felt that way at some social functions. I’ve felt that way in an unfamiliar city. I’ve felt that way when I’ve been surrounded by people acting and speaking in a way contrary to how God would have us live. Sometimes I’ve felt that way in church.
1 Peter 1:1-2 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Peter tells us it is natural to feel like we don’t fit in this world. Followers of Jesus are identified as “strangers in the world.” Other translations render the word as “exiles” or “those who reside as aliens.” In the original language this word has the meaning of living more or less ‘permanently’ in a country that is not your own. Some people use the term “sojourner.”
But notice that this first verse of this epistle also identifies us as something else: God’s elect. This is a translation of the same word that is usually renered as “church.” Believers are those who have been called and chosen by God. Yes, we live in this world, but this is not our home.
Building 429 has a song entitled “Where I Belong” that has this refrain:
All I know is I’m not home yet
This is not where I belong
Take this world and give me Jesus
This is not where I belong
The last hymn of the hymnal used when I was growing up, The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH #660), published over 70 years ago, began with these words: “I’m but a stranger here, Heaven is my home.” Throughout the hymn those four words were repeated over and over again: “Heaven is my Home.”
(BTW: I have to chuckle when I hear people criticize “contemporary Christian Music” for being too repetitive. Have you paid attention to our liturgies and the hymns we sing? Repetition is not necessarily a bad thing.)
You belong in The Church, the body of Christ, even though you don’t deserve to be there. None of us deserve to be there. But God wants you there, and has done what is needed to bring you there. That is what Peter was describing when he wrote “the sanctifying work of the Spirit.” He calls, invites, instructs and leads you to know who Jesus is and what He has done for you. The Spirit works faith in you, allowing you to believe that Jesus is your Savior, and that His life and death and resurrection assure you of forgiveness and life everlasting.
You and I are the elect, the called, the chosen. “Chosen…for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.” His blood cleanses us from all sin, motivating us to respond with lives that strive to do His will. Even though this world is not our home. While we are here, waiting to go home, we need to focus on living for Jesus and telling others about Him.
