Shepherding Exiles
A this-is-not-our-home post seems fitting for the day after an election here in America. I’m putting the finishing touches on it a few days before the election, so it’s not written based on any particular outcome.
Peter addresses his first epistle, "To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia…” (1 Peter 1;1, ESV). An exile is someone who is away from their home, staying in another place with the expectant hope that they will return.
Culturally, exiles are distinct from the culture in which they are sojourning. Whether they know for sure when or if they will return to their homeland, they continue to express that hope by living as best as they can as though they are already home.
So what does it mean to be an elect exile—a follower of Jesus longing for their home?
The first step to answering that question is to articulate just what home is for followers of Jesus. Many assume that since Peter—as well as the author of Hebrews—call Christians exiles, he was speaking geographically. That is, we will leave Earth and reside in heaven. But a straightforward reading of Revelation indicates that our ultimate home will be a marriage of Heaven and Earth. Instead, the best way to think about our home is that home is wherever Jesus is King.
We live in the “already but not yet” time where Jesus has ushered in his kingdom and established himself as the true king, but we await the time when he will establish his kingdom for eternity. And because of that, we live as exiles. We declare allegiance to a different King than most of those around us.
And as pastors and ministry leaders, we shepherd exiles who declare allegiance to a different King than most of us around us. We don’t often think of it in those terms, but that’s an important lens through which to view our ministry. And so how do we engage in this important role of shepherding exiles?
Remind exiles that this is not our home
Our home is not ultimately a geographical location, but rather our home is with Jesus. While there is much to enjoy in life and be grateful for, the longing in our hearts speak to the fact that this is not our home. As Paul expressed in Philippians 1:23 when writing about this tension, "I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”
Commission and encourage ambassadors
Our role as exiles is not to huddle up, stay safe, and get through this time of sojourning until eventually we can go home. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:19-20, "that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (ESV). We implore people to come with us, to surrender to Jesus the King, and be reconciled to God!
Lead exiles in lament
Psalm 137 is a beautiful lament written in exile in Babylon. When we experience the brokenness of this world, we are reminded that it is not our home, and the proper response is to lament that we are not there. When illness, unemployment, abuse, poverty, and other troubles rattle us, we can teach people to lament not just the brokenness, but the fact that we long for our true home.
Teach on eschatology
Many pastors shy away from teaching on eschatology for one of two reasons: 1) it’s overwhelming, and 2) they know that it might raise controversy within their church among those who are very opinionated about it. But learning about eschatology—theology about the culmination of history—isn’t just a theological exercise. It’s a beautiful window into how God is making all things new, and just how we will come to be in our new home.
What other ways can we shepherd exiles?