“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise….15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, 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 11:8-9, 15-16)
If I could identify best with a person’s story in the Bible, I would be hard-pressed to choose between Abraham and Moses. Both of them were called to leave their place of relative comfort to a place where “God would show him”. Abram left his home in Ur and God led him to Canaan, though he remained in a nomadic life until he died. Moses was raised in a palace and in the privileges of nobility, and later fled to Midian, living as a shepherd until God called him to lead his people….to wander in the desert 40 years!
Though my life sounds much less dramatic, I was raised as a missionary kid in Japan, moving at least once every 4 years, from places of service to having to raise support. I considered Japan my “home”, even though I was probably not recognized as the majority there as being Japanese! I felt out-of-place when coming back to the States for college. For both my sister and myself, we had never stayed anywhere more than 5 years, until our current assignments.
Some would consider this detrimental to one’s upbringing. We had not gotten to know our extended family or “put down roots” like most people do. Yet in my mind, this has also given me some distinct advantages as well. I have been given the opportunity to see Christian congregations worship in their cultural contexts in almost a dozen countries. I have worked with missionaries from other denominations, putting aside certain theological differences for the sake of Christ’s Great Commission.
These things have given me a lens by which I understand the scriptures, as all of our upbringings have done. One thing in particular stood out to me fairly recently as we’ve been going through Philippians as a church. Christ Jesus himself left the glories of heaven to “tabernacle” (or “tent”) among us in a mortal and temporary body! He humbled Himself for others’ sake, but also in obedience to God the Father. In His own words, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20). Then, we are commanded to “follow Him”! What does that mean?
At the very least, we are to regard our lives differently because of God’s revelation to us. It is disclosed to us that we are eternal beings, and this life is very temporary, yet with a purpose! “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. (2 Corinthians 5:1) Also, “I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.” (2 Peter 1:13-14)
How does this guide my life in this current world? Just as moving from place to place kept my family from accumulating too much “junk” we don’t need, so I now have to think twice or three times about accumulating goods that distract us away from our main mission. “Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:19-20).
With these clear principles in scripture, individual believers must act accordingly to conscience, and this will be different from person to person, or family to family. As an operating principle for my growing family, given the luxury of a garage and 2 cars, we have made a commitment to never get to the point where we would have to store our cars outside, or get a storage unit. 2ndly, we regularly remind ourselves that while all good things are a gift and blessing from God, we are stewards, not owners, of these things, and accountable to Him in how we use them! 3rdly, I also make it a point to regularly remind our family and congregation of the Church worldwide, most operating with far less resources than we have here.
According to conscience and the leading of the Holy Spirit, part of it is for us to enjoy, part of it is for us to share open-handedly with others, and all of it is to be used for the Glory of God. You will be right in recognizing that all things physical are but temporary, pointing to an eternal reality that far exceeds our wildest dreams, or sanctified imagination. We now live out what it means as Christians to be called “stewards”, (Matthew 25:14-30) “sojourners/aliens” (Hebrews 11:13, 1 Peter 2:11), and “ambassadors of Christ”! (2 Corinthians 5:20)