I Believe in Aliens

​I believe in aliens.

Phew, there, I said it! I’ve been needing to get that off my chest for quite a while now.
No really, seriously. For weeks, I’ve been looking forward to writing this post, but only now got the courage to sit down and write it. Why? Because WHO in their right mind would stay subscribed to my blog posts after hearing me utter such a phrase?!
Now, before you do something drastic and book me a room at an asylum, just let me explain….
I believe in aliens, because I am one.
Okay goodness, I guess that didn’t help my case out much at all, did it?
Well, if you’ve stuck with me this far, then you might as well stick with me to the end, right?
I can just hear the phone call now,
“Hello, this is Central State Hospital, how may I help you today?”
“Um, yes, I’d like to book a room for two, please.”
 
Okay, all kidding aside, I really do want to explain to you why I can claim the title of “alien,” and how at the end of this post, you’ll probably never look at yourself and your “home” the same way again! Because, uh, yeah, sorry to break it to you, but if you’re a Christian, you’re in alien too!!
But, what is the definition of alien?
According to Oxford, the word alien has a few different definitions, but we’re only going to be dwelling on the first one this morning. And that one describes alien as, “Belonging to a foreign country.”
Now, if someone who lived outside the USA came to the USA, then it’s safe to call them an alien, right? Because, they don’t belong here, they belong somewhere else. The USA is not their home. 
We, as Christians, don’t belong here on earth. We belong in Heaven. We’re only camping here until the Lord sees fit to take us home. And our home in heaven? That’s where we belong. That’s where we’ll live with Him for eternity, surrounded by fellow believers, worshiping our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We’re constantly reminded in scripture that this world is not our home (Hebrews 13:14, 1 Peter 2:11-12).
And get ready for this, Peter says in 1 Peter 2:11-25 that we’re strangers and pilgrims, and in some versions of the Bible it even uses the word, “aliens.”
Are you convinced yet? I hope you are, because we’re now leaving the “convincing stage” and going on to the application. And that would be, “how should we conduct ourselves as aliens?”
By reading 1 Peter 2, we get a lot of insight into how we should act here on earth. It’s broken down into three key parts. And they all have to do with submission. And we know that submission comes from humility towards others.
So let’s look at those points together! 

1. Being Lights for Christ

“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:11-12)
 
Peter is telling us how we should behave as aliens. =) He’s making it quite easy and clear. He says we should withhold from indulging our flesh and giving into fleshly lusts and desires. He says that our works should glorify God. Why? Because this world is not our home. Since that’s the case, it’s going to be easy to want to “fit in,” while we’re here. I mean, who wants to stick out? But that’s exactly what we should be doing! We should be sticking out and our lives should be so different than those of the world, sharing His light with everyone we see, and making it evidently clear that we don’t belong here. And then people might ask what makes us so different and we’ll be able to give an answer for the hope that lies within us (1 Peter 3:15).
 

     2. Submit to government“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.” (1 Peter 2: 13-17)
 
Peter says here, that we must submit ourselves to local, state, and national authorities. Benjamin Franklin once said, “The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of man; and if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?” That’s true on so many levels. The lack of respect for our president, local and state authorities are truly saddening. We don’t have to agree with the president on every topic in order to show him respect. We don’t have to even like the work he’s doing in order to submit ourselves to his authority. These men and woman were put into office because God wanted them to be. They were selected because God wanted to raise them up. We don’t have know why, or question God’s reasoning, all we have to do is trust Him and know that His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). So let’s do something. Let’s endeavor to show the utmost respect to the authorities the Lord puts into our lives. Let’s not mock, or make fun of them, but give them the respect the Lord commands. He put them in our lives for a reason, and that reason is ultimately for our good.  

      3. Submit to masters“Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “Who committed no sin,
Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:18-25)
 
The key point in these verses aren’t speaking primarily on submitting to masters. Rather, it’s speaking on being wrongly accused and suffering needlessly. It’s talking about submitting to those higher than you, even if that means you’re being wrongly accused. I’m sure we can all think of at least one scenario where we were wrongly accused. It probably seemed like the end of the world, and this is especially the case among children. But all we have to do during these times is think about the One who was wrongly accused to the point of death. And so we’re given the wise advice to give these matters to the most righteous Judge that ever lived. So let’s try something this week. If we find ourselves in a situation and we’re being wrongly accused, let’s just give it to Jesus and let him deal with it for us. Isn’t that nice that we have our own personal lawyer? He’s the judge, lawyer and jury all wrapped into one, and we know that no matter what, He’ll always rule in our favor. He knows whats best for us and His plans are perfect, far more perfect than we will ever be able to fully imagine. 
 
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As we go about our day, in a home that really isn’t our home, and a world that really is just a camping ground until we get to our real home, let’s remember one thing; Let’s remember to try and make the best of our stay here. Let’s light the world on fire for Christ. Let’s give a good name for Him and do our best to glorify His name.
This isn’t our home. We don’t belong here. We’re aliens until the day the Lord sees fit to take us home.
 
I don’t know about you, but I’m proud to be an alien.
I’m happy that this isn’t my home and that I won’t be living here for eternity. I can hardly wait for the day when we’ll be with Him forever, In a place with no more sorrow and no more pain. Where no one dies and no one is cries. A place that’s built with love and laughter as we worship our King together in perfect harmony.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to finally be home.