Hebrews 11:13 (ESV) 13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
Hebrews 11:16 (ESV) 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
In the old John Wayne movie, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” John Wayne calls an easterner, Ransom Stoddard, moving to the harsh realities of the West, several times, a “Pilgrim.” I think I love the way he said it best all. But that is exactly what we as believers are, Pilgrims, strangers, exiles, in a harsh, unfriendly environment (Matthew 10:16).
For the Christian, it is vitally important that we keep our fixed on eternity while we wrestle with the realities of a fallen world here. The writer of Hebrews is making this point as a matter of the reality of a walk of faith. Israel walked in the Promised Land and never possessed it. For the patriarchs were seen as passing through Canaan to a better place.
If we become attached to this earth we will soon find ourselves disappointed. This is not our home. God did not save us for our own personal happiness, and especially to seek it here on this earth. Nothing in this life, including God’s most abundant earthly blessings, will give a believer the satisfaction and joy that come with absolute assurance of future glory.
If you think this Christian ethos comes easy, you are mistaken. Our flesh is firmly attached to seeking earthly blessings and will fight the “new man” (Ephesian 4:24; Colossians 3:10) in order to keep the focus on earthly treasures. That was the challenge our Lord raised with the Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-22). There are whole movements in nominal Christianity majoring on earthly blessings and they are popular because they feed the desires of the flesh. Even when we don’t buy into those obvious schemes of wealth and health, we still find ourselves fighting the happiness and comfort syndrome. Whether we like it or not, we can’t escape this reality of the world system while we pass through it. We truly are pilgrims, exiles passing through to a better land. We must live and walk in the new man (Ephesians 4:24), empowered by the Spirit of God and his Word, in order to escape the allure of fixing our feet firmly in this world. Our identification, as believers, isn’t found any where else, that in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ (Romans 6:3-6). The new life we now live we live for the Lord not ourselves, even if we are seeking to live morally (Romans 14:8).
I am not arguing for asceticism (rigorous, laborious lifestyle, involving the denial of pleasure and rest as a way of expressing spiritual devotion), but rather a way of living that focuses on glorifying Christ, not meeting our own self interests, (Colossians 1:18; Romans 6:11-14).
“Every time you prefer the pleasures of this world to the joys of heaven, you spit in the face of Christ; every time when to gain in your business, you do an unrighteous thing, you are like Judas selling Him for thirty pieces of silver; every time you make a false profession of religion, you give Him a traitor’s kiss; every word you have spoken against Him, every hard thought you have had of Him, has helped to complete your complicity with the great crowd which gathered around the Cross of Calvary, to mock and jeer the Lord of life and glory.” –Charles Spurgeon
So remove the idols of self gratification, your own spiritual victories, and “felt needs” and seek the “better country,” (Hebrews 11:15) a heavenly home where Christ reigns.
-Michael Holtzinger