The other day I was standing on a tram, contrasting the country where I live with the America where I grew up. There were many things to think about and contrast. I thought how we live in a land where we don't think as they think, we don't talk as they talk, we don't act as they act, and we do not have the same goals and desires as they have. Suddenly, I realized my thoughts had changed from the contrast between Bulgaria and America to the contrast between the Christian and the world.

    We live in a world filled. with sin! The people of God always have, and they always will! Yes, it would be wonderful if we lived in a day and age where lust of the eye, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life were not as prevalent as they are today, but the temptations we face are no different from those faced by all brethren who ever lived (I Pet. 5:8-9). The challenge for the Christian is to live a holy and godly life in the midst of a world filled with wicked and godless people! Paul instructs Christians, "Do not be conformed by the renewing of your mind. . ." (Romans 12:2). Friends, the key is in the thinking! It is impossible to change our goals, desires, actions, and speech without changing our thinking!

    One of the major differences between the way the world thinks and the way the Christian is to think, is how we consider the world in which we live. "If then you were raised together with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory" (Colossians 3:1-4).
 
    We joyously sing, "This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through. . .". Do we really
think of our citizenship in heaven as more important than our earthly residence? How do we
really think about this present world? Do we, like Paul, long for "a building from God, an eternal
house in heaven, not built by human hands," or are we satisfied with our cottages, our silver and our gold? Do we contemplate our heavenly mansion, or are we content to dwell in our "houses in the hills"?

     There are so many warnings in the Bible. about riches in this life. In the story of the rich  man and Lazarus, the rich man was content with the life he had. In the parable of the rich farmer, he was also comfortable in his present situation. And the rich young ruler was unwilling to give up the things he had to follow Jesus. Jesus strongly condemned the over emphasis on things: "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses" ( Luke 12:15). Yet many times "things" can tie us to the earth, and hinder our desire to want to be "at home with the Lord".

     Maybe we just get so comfortable in this world with the things that we have, that it is hardly possible for us to be "homesick" for heaven. Most of us have heard the story of the Bible class of young children who were asked to raise their hands if they wanted to go to heaven. All of the little children except one raised their hands. The teacher asked the one little boy why he did not want to go to heaven after he died. He replied, "I want to go to heaven, but I thought you were taking up a load right now." We laugh -'maybe because we see ourselves all too clearly!

    We can learn a lot from the example of Abraham, "By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country ... For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God". . . And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such thing show that they are looking for a country of their own ... they were longing for a better country - - a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for He has prepared a city for them (Hebrews 11:9-10, 13-16).

    Living in a foreign country has given me a better understanding of what it means to be a stranger in a country not your own. No matter how much I learn about the people, the culture, and the language, I am still a stranger in the land. That is the way Christians are supposed to be: sojourners - - people who are living as strangers in the entire earth. Heaven is our home. This world is just a temporary place to stay. Have you ever gone somewhere and said, "That was a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to make it my home"? That is the way Christian must feel about anywhere we live. The earth is a nice place to visit, but "if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable."

    Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world. .. abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. As God's elect, strangers in the world ... live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear" (I Peter 2:11; 1:1; 1:17).

    Won't it be grand when all of God's children get home? People from every age, every country, and every race, all coming home together for the first time, forever!