Growing up in the rural south, Christianity was very much the dominant culture. Instead of feeling outcast or unusual, instead of being made fun of or insulted, I felt like I was part of the norm. I fit in. As a young person, reading Jesus' words that the world would hate me (John 15:19) seemed so completely foreign to my experience. I didn't feel like the world hated me. But perhaps I hadn’t been living as boldly for Christ as I thought I was. I had been blessed to live in a country with little to no persecution of any kind. This certainly wasn't everyone in the world's experience.
The Christian Experience Today
Many years have passed. Today the world has changed. I am still blessed to live in a place where I am free (so far) to worship as I please, but feeling different from the culture around me is now normal. As a class of people, Christians are made fun of and insulted fairly regularly. People don't hide their hatred of Christians. While I don’t currently fear physical persecution, I can foresee a time in the not-so-distant future when that could change.
If we are hated as Christians it should be for the right reason. It shouldn't be because we showed no mercy, love, or grace for those around us. It shouldn't be because we were harsh and unforgiving. It shouldn't be because we thought of ourselves as better than others. If we are hated it should only be because men prefer darkness over light. They prefer the sin they are living in over the transformation that Jesus offers. So yes, we tell them about Jesus, that is our responsibility and our desire, but we do it with love.
Lessons from 1 Peter: Encouragement for Christians in Exile
In 1 Peter, Peter is writing to churches who were enduring great persecution. He wanted them to know who they were in Christ. The lessons from 1 Peter were an encouragement for Christians in exile and under persecution. Peter wanted them to know what great hope they should have in Jesus and how blessed they were.
In 1 Peter 1:1, Peter tells them that we are exiles dispersed throughout a world where we don't really belong. When Peter said this he was remembering back to the Jewish exile to Babylon. For the Jews the exile was one of the most important events in their history. They were warned by God's prophets for centuries that turning their backs on God would lead to devastating consequences.
One of those prophets, Jeremiah, not only prophesied their exile, but also spoke of how they should live while they were in exile. Sadly, Jerusalem did eventually fall to invaders, was plundered and the people were placed in slavery to the conquering Babylonian empire. Their hope was destroyed.
The Babylonian Exile: Jeremiah’s Instructions to the Captives
Jeremiah prophesied that the Jewish people would be taken into exile in Babylon. In chapter 29 he gives the captive people instructions from God on how they should act and what they should do during this terrible time.
The exiled Jews may have expected God to command them to pray for Babylon’s downfall. They may have thought God would tell them to disrespect the Babylonian people. Maybe they thought He would call for them to rise up in rebellion against their captives. But God said none of this.
What did God call them to do? To begin, God reminds them that it was He who caused them to be carried into captivity. Not man, God Himself. In Jeremiah 29:5-9, He explains what He wants them to do.
Build houses, live in them. Plant gardens and eat the fruit.
Marry and have children. Make sure your children do the same, so that their numbers will increase, not decrease.
Seek peace and pray for it. In Babylon's peace, they would find peace.
Don't listen to your prophets who prophesy falsely. They aren't from God.
Hope in the Midst of Exile: God’s Promises
Then Jeremiah tells them that after 70 years they will be freed to return to their homeland. He tells them that God has assured them of a future and a hope and promised to hear their cries. He told them that when they sought Him with their whole heart they would find Him. And so, after 70 years of captivity, it was done as God said it would be.
Ezekiel’s Guidance: A Call to Righteousness and Separation
During the exile, the prophet Ezekiel told the Jews that they had to live righteously among the Babylonians. They should continue their religious practices because even though they no longer had a temple, God was with them. Ezekiel emphasized the importance of an inner renewal of their heart towards God. Ezekiel spoke of being separate from the Babylonians. Do not assimilate, do not become like the culture that they were living in, he told them.
Today, God is with us as well and desires our hearts to be renewed which leads to living out our faith. His desire is for us to put on the new man, as Ephesians 4:24 reminds us. Peter has much the same message to us as exiles, as Ezekiel did to the Jews in exile: God is with us and there is hope in Him.
Peter’s Message: Our Future Hope and Conduct
Returning to Peter’s message, he reminds us that, even though we are exiles, we are still called to live faithfully in this world. While we are here we are strangers in the earth. Then, when our time of exile is over, we will go to our promised land. Peter tells us that we have a "living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3).
We rejoice in hope because our faith in God will allow us to endure trouble and trials that come our way. Verse four tells us that our inheritance is undefiled, imperishable and unfading. This means that our inheritance of eternal life can't be broken or spoiled, can't die and can't lose its value. Persecutions of all types can be endured, as 1 Peter 1:6-9 tells us, because since we love Jesus, we experience an inexpressible joy, full of glory. Are you finding joy in the love of Christ? Are you able to share that joy with others?
The Call to Good Works: Influence and Witness
1 Peter 2:1 explains that we are sojourners and pilgrims that should conduct ourselves honorably, so that when the world says evil things about us "they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation." This sounds very similar to what Jeremiah told the Jews in Babylon. Just as they were to live their lives and seek peace with others, we are told to do good works to people who speak evil of us.
Grace in Action: How Are We Living Today?
Peter says this in 1 Peter 2:15, "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men." We are expected to show grace to everyone as grace was shown to us. Is this how we live in our society today? Are we arguing online with non-Christians. Are we confrontational and judgmental towards non-Christians, especially those living what we would consider "alternate lifestyles", having addictions, or differing with us on right to life issues, for example? Where is our humility?
We should never call evil good. However, if the Jewish exile in Babylon teaches us anything, it’s that we should pray for peace, seek the welfare of others, and continue serving God. We shouldn't live in fear. Our time here in our exile will not be very long. We will either die and go to be with God or He will come and take us home. Either way, will the world around us see our good works and ultimately glorify God because of them?
Modern Parallels: Christians in a Foreign Culture
Likewise, we must not conform to the culture around us. We are in the world but not of the world, much like the exiles in Babylon. Similarly, just as the Jewish exiles no longer had the temple, we as Christians today no longer have Jesus physically present. However, we are blessed with the Holy Spirit of God who lives in us and renews us. We have personally become that very temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).
Just as the exiles in Babylon were given hope for their future, so are we today. It can be easy to feel hopeless when we are facing persecution. Do you feel like giving up sometimes, like the world is winning? Whether we are facing hostility or simply feeling like outsiders, we find our hope, not in changing the world around us, but in the unchanging promises of God. By living faithfully, seeking peace, and holding onto our hope in Christ, we can reflect His light in even the darkest places. We change the world by doing good for the love of our God.
We are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13) and the light in the darkness (2 Corinthians 4:6-13). We purposefully shouldn't fit in. Our grace, love and good works in the earth are to bring glory to God. So the question remains: Will the world see Christ through us? Will our lives shine His light and glorify God, even when the culture around us is dark?
Jeremiah and Ezekiel both speak of exile. This exile profoundly changed the Jewish nation. Just as their exile fostered a deeper faith, we must ask ourselves: Is our exile bringing us closer to God? We need to approach those in the world humbly and reach out to love the seemingly unlovable. We may be exiles, but we are joyful in our Savior! In this world, are you living as an exile, faithful to God, or have you compromised your beliefs? Shine your light in this dark world, fill it with love, and enjoy being an exile—till Heaven!
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