When the Israelites were captured by the Babylon they felt abandoned by God (Isaiah 40:27 – 27 Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”? ).  There is was a true separation for them that took them away from the only place they could worship God, the temple. The exile was more than being captured out to another county as slaves, but it was a departure from their one point that they could touch the living God. Many of them at the time however had taken that temple for granted and were not to appreciate the loss of it until it was gone. It’s difficult to accept that the Sovereign God is over all of these circumstances and issues in our lives.

This is our picture today as exiles in a foreign country. We are constantly surrounded with a godless culture of similar to the Babylonian culture. Paul describes us as ambassadors to this land. Representatives of the true King called to make much of Him. There is a movement or temptation to consider this place to be our home and therefore we must reform the heathen culture around us. We cry out for a political salvation or a economic Savior. Thus the hope is not in the Lord to save us for our true Home with Him but rather they want to reform the surrounding “Babylonian” culture around us.  Shadrach , named after Babylonian Gods, didn’t even venture to change the culture but rather defy the culture because their hope was in the Lord.

This is our call as well as Christ has called us to make much of Him and His Kingdom coming and not to try and gather the pieces of this fallen kingdom together and make into something. I’m catching myself do this with my hedonistic tendencies. The comforts of Babylon are comforting. Yet we try to make it work. I have a key to my truck that is on the verge of snapping everytime I unlock the door, its so soft and squishy I have to be so gentle with it so it doesn’t finally bite the dust. One day I know it will and hopefully it will be nice outside when that happens. If as it so often happens we experience the loss of fellowship or just the brokeness of the world we have a habit of trying to make it work and assure ourselves that it is all OK. Everything we have is broken. This world is fallen.

So everyday we are confronted with a choice. Am I living to make this temporary home a more comfortable place for me to live? Am I gathering those who are like-minded around me so I can feel good about myself? Or am I hoping in the Lord’s eventual return that One Day we will come to the New Jerusalem and worship the King of Glory Himself?

This isn’t a choice we can keep to ourselves. A pluralistic world wants us to do that. To keep our religion confined to our homes, but the beauty of choosing trust is we can’t keep it inside! It will pour out in the actions we do and make. What we cherish reflects our beliefs. If we cherish our possessions for ourselves it is evident we consider this life to be important, but if we cherish Christ then our possessions, time and energy can be freely given without hesitation.

C.S Lewis said “If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

Here’s to living for His Kingdom and not for this broken one.

(Disclaimer: Nor should we disregard this home as a place to dump on because it will all go away. There is no excuse for lack of stewardship for the earth. )

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