A list of those who have lived by faith is mentioned in Hebrews 11. However, a noteworthy statement breaks up this list: “These all died in faith, acknowledging that they were strangers and exiles on earth, and that they saw them and greeted them from afar, not having received the things promised” (Hebrews 11:13). Let’s examine this statement in more detail and see what the Bible says about spiritual strangers.
Spiritual strangers
According to Ephesians 2:12, the Bible states that all individuals are inherently “foreigners… without hope and without God in the world.” God placed the first humans in a lovely garden in Eden when He created them. God Himself planted this garden, which was the ideal place for Adam and Eve to live in peace with their Creator.
But it did not take long before Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord. As God had warned them before, the consequences of their disobedience were severe. From that moment on, humans, animals and the whole natural world were subjected to death. This also implied that Adam and Eve could no longer live in the garden where the tree of life was. God did not want them to live forever in their sin. Therefore, He sent them out from the garden of Eden and placed angels with a flaming sword at its entrance to guard it. Adam and Eve had to spend the rest of their earthly lives outside their original home, in a world that was cursed and affected by sin. Even worse, sin alienated them from their Creator.
God brings sinners home
However, God had already promised that the woman’s child would strike Satan in the head before Adam and Eve even left the garden. This was the earliest prophecy of Jesus Christ, who was to come and defeat Satan and make peace between the people and the divine.
Jesus uses a parable in Luke 15 to explain why God is not angry with wicked people. After requesting his part of his father’s assets, the son ran away from home and recklessly spent the money. There was a terrible famine in that nation after all the money was gone, and he had very little to eat. He then made the decision to return to his father and beg for forgiveness, saying, “Father, I have sinned against God and have wronged you.” I no longer deserve to be referred to as your son. However, permit me to function as one of your hired employees (Luke 15:18-19, ERV). But as soon as his father noticed him approaching, he threw a party and welcomed his son inside.
This is an inspiring illustration of God’s love. He is aware of our great sin and the hopelessness of our circumstances. But He calls us to return to our own house! According to Ephesians 2:19, he desires for us to be “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”
Jesus left His home to save sinners
In order to bring sinners home to God the Father, Jesus left His glorious position in heaven and became a human baby. He was born in a poor and humble family and had to flee the country of Israel to save His life. As an adult, He was despised and ridiculed by many. Far away from His heavenly home, He was a stranger on earth. “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head”, He warned His followers (Luke 9:57-58). And in the end, He was falsely accused and murdered. But He conquered death and rose again. Going back to heaven, He told His disciples: “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:3).
Being strangers and exiles on the earth
The desire of believers is to spend eternity with God. However, they are also citizens of a specific nation and a member of a specific family and social group as long as they are alive on this planet. Tension is produced by this. They are not fully a part of the world in which they live. As Jesus tells His disciples, “Because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you,” this might result in alienation and even persecution (John 15:19).
However, even in a pleasant existence, this is hardly the final objective for a Christian. According to Hebrews 11:13, Christians are “strangers and exiles” as long as they remain on earth. And it’s critical to remember that. If not, we risk losing the proper perspective on life due to the worries of this world. God will provide for all of our other needs if we first [seek the kingdom of God].
