On the pilgrim pathway

“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul”.

1 Peter 2:11 [KJV]

Tower Hill

I’m sure we can all think of instances when we felt very alone in a crowd. Maybe you went to an event and didn’t know anyone there. Or you were in a place where everyone around you was speaking a language you didn’t know. Perhaps you were the only work colleague who didn’t laugh at the boss’ crude joke. Maybe you’ve joined a new church, and the people are lovely, but you’re still not sure who’s related to who, or where the tea towels are kept. Or you moved to another state, and the way they pronounce some words still sounds weird.

In short, you don’t feel like you belong. Sometimes it’s just a matter of time and knowledge. In other instances, you’ll never belong, because you don’t. You’re what the Bible calls a pilgrim. Today, we often define pilgrims as religious people travelling to a sacred site. The Bible definition is broader and is a key theme in the book of 1 Peter. Here, the apostle calls his audience pilgrims (2:11), strangers (1:1), peculiar people (2:9), and sojourners (1:17). These are all references to people who don’t fully belong in their current location because their home is elsewhere.

Peter’s audience knew what not belonging felt like. They were suffering intense persecution (3:14, 4:4), ejected from their homelands (1:1), and a minority in a pagan culture. For some, becoming a Christian had triggered an identity crisis. What did a proud Jew now call himself after being evicted from the synagogue? How should a silversmith now support his family after spending years learning the craft of carving idols? What was a mother, wife or daughter supposed to call herself after rejection from her family?

To those struggling to answer such questions – and to all of us asking questions about our identity today – Peter had a simple message. You are a pilgrim.

Being a pilgrim means you are valued by God. When we go through trials that leave us feeling very alone, we find comfort in knowing people care about us. 1 Peter was written to persecuted Christians – the word ‘suffer’ appears 15 times – so Peter emphasises how much God “careth for you” (5:7b). It’s not possible to list every reference, but here are a number I found encouraging. We are “not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold …But with the precious blood of Christ” (1:18a-19a) who “his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (2:24). If you ever doubt whether God cares about you in your suffering, remember that he sent His son to suffer to save us from the eternal torment of hellfire (Revelation 21:8). But wait, there’s more. To God, the trial of our faith is “much more precious than of gold that perisheth” (1:7), and He has given us Christ as an example of how to respond to suffering (2:19-25). God hears our prayers (3:12) – what a blessing to know we have Someone we can cast our cares on 24 hours a day, seven days a week (5:7)! And when we feel like we have lost or lack much in this life, we can find encouragement in knowing God has “begotten us again … To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1:4).

Being a pilgrim also gives you purpose in life. Pilgrims are on a journey to an important destination. They will do what it takes to reach their goal, such as packing the right luggage and following the correct route. Similarly, knowing we are a pilgrim gives direction to our actions. Our destination is ultimately heaven, and in this life our goal is to be Christlike and bring glory to God. This gives meaning to everything we encounter and do along life’s journey. We have a lively (living) hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1:3). We have motivation to work hard in service for Christ (1:13) and should live holy lives because Christ is holy (1:15-16). Suffering is not meaningless: “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1:7). We bring glory to God through such things as obedience, submission to authorities, the right response to suffering, using the gifts God has given us, and being a good witness to non-Christians (2:9,12,13-15,20; 3:1-4; 4:10-11;3:15). When we’re focused on God’s plan for our lives, we’ll do whatever it takes to reach the place where God wants us to be. We’ll ask ourselves questions like: What can I do that will help me grow spiritually? What is God teaching me in this season of suffering? How can I be a good testimony to those around me? And we’ll ask this question that frankly, none of us like to ask: What am I currently doing that I shouldn’t be doing?

Being a pilgrim also means there are things we shouldn’t be doing. In 1 Peter 2:11, the apostle pleads, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul”. Citizens of earth indulge in fleshly lusts; citizens of heaven should never do so. Have you ever seen someone try to go up an escalator that is going down? Or have you ever been somewhere so windy that when you try to walk in one direction, you are blown in another? Fleshly lusts take us to places contrary to where the Spirit wants us to go (Galatians 5:17). In 1 Peter 4:2 the Christian is reminded “That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God”. Some of these lustful indulgences are named in the next verse: “lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries”. Others are listed in texts such as Galatians 5:19-21 and Mark 7:20-23. Sin leads to bondage, but rejection of sin results in fellowship (1 John 1:7), equipping for doing good works (Titus 2:14), blessing (1 Peter 3:9) and God’s protection (3:12-13). In the words of Hebrews 12:1b-2a, “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.”

When we don’t feel at home in the world we live in, let’s be encouraged by the reminder that we are pilgrims on a heavenly journey. We are valuable to God, we have purpose to our lives, and we have strong motivation “as strangers and pilgrims [to] abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul”.