Living as an Exile

Throughout history, God’s people who walk in obedience to God’s Word stand out. In 1 Peter, we are given insight into who we are as believers, how we are meant to live, and why it’s worth it.

The book starts with “elect exiles of the dispersion.” The "elect" are God’s chosen people. Before you were born, God knew that you would be chosen. No matter where you fall on the doctrine of predestination, in scripture, the idea of being chosen is meant to be a comfort. There’s no peace like the assurance that God chose you because He loved you and wanted to, not because of anything you did.

To be an exile means you are a temporary resident, present alongside a resident alien. You are other than the culture, but you’re among it. An exile doesn’t enjoy the privileges of a citizen.

Often, we will try to blend in so much that we lose all Christian distinctiveness or try to keep the culture at arm’s length and make zero impact. The exile, on the other hand, is passing through but not passing by. Home is elsewhere, but this is home for now.

Believers are exiles because we are chosen and, therefore, different. There is no dual citizenship in the Kingdom of God. If you are His, then that’s where your allegiance lies. Exiles stand out and eventually are seen as appealing and beautiful.

The dispersion was when the Jews were scattered beyond Israel. In 1 Peter, he uses it as a metaphor, saying that God always uses His people as foreigners in strange lands: Daniel in Babylon, Moses in Egypt, Peter and Paul in Rome We are part of a plan bigger than ourselves, and God reminds us that we make it through hostile lands depending on Him. We can trust God’s purpose because of His character.

Our new identity in Christ should lead to new activity. So, how do we live as exiles? We set our hope fully on the grace that will come with Jesus when He returns. Hope is grounded expectation. Don’t get too attached to this world. We hold only to the hope of Jesus to come. The highs and lows of life are a shadow of a better life to come.

We set our hope fully because He is worthy. Created things cannot bear the weight only our Creator was meant to hold; there’s no sure thing but Jesus. We have full hope by preparing our minds for action and being sober-minded. We are ready for battle. Being sober-minded is having the mental clarity to make choices that are aligned with God’s will. See sin for what it is.

The second way we live this out is by being holy in our conduct. Being holy is conforming our thinking and behavior to God’s character in a way that sets us apart from those who believe differently. Our vertical commitment to Christ changes our horizontal actions. Holiness is grounded in relational language. We’re obedient children. We should want to imitate our Father. We don’t revert back to who we were with our old patterns of thinking and passions. When we compromise our holiness, we forget the hope that we have. We don’t need compartmentalized Christians; those are just hypocrites.

Why is living like this worth it? Peter tells us to conduct ourselves in fear of the Lord. We are loved and chosen by God, but He is the impartial Judge. Reverence of God is a comfort because Jesus paid our judgment for us so we don’t have to face the terror of His wrath. We know our old lives were futile, but we were ransomed from that life through Jesus. He was raised from the dead for us, so we know that we will have resurrection as well.

We are chosen exiles dispersed in the middle of where God wants us. We are not hiding but engaging with the culture in a way that offers them a vision of a better way. Take hold of hope and live a life worthy of the calling you have received.