Are you a stranger to this world or a friend to this world? (image by pixabay.com)
In “The Valley of Vision,” under the prayer entitled “Journeying On,” the prayer begins:
“Lord of the cloud and fire, I am a stranger, with a stranger’s indifference; My hands hold a pilgrim’s staff, My march is Zionward, My eyes are toward the coming of the Lord, My heart is in thy hands without reserve…”
Notice a peculiar phrase mentioned above: “I am a stranger, with a stranger’s indifference.”
What does the word “indifference” mean? It means that there is a “lack of interest, concern, or sympathy; unimportant” (source).
The writer of the prayer is saying that he is ultimately indifferent to this world. He has a “Lack of interest,” a “lack of concern,” and/or a “lack of sympathy” towards this world. The reason that he has an indifferent attitude towards this world is because he is “stranger” and his hands are holding a “pilgrim’s staff.” What is a “pilgrim”?
Hebrews 11:3 gives us this concept of a pilgrim when it says:
“All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.”
The phrases “strangers” and “exiles” would apply to the concept of “pilgrim” that the Puritan uses in the prayer above. As Christians, this world is not our home. We should not feel fully “at home” on this planet. There should reside within every Christian an inner longing to go to our “true home” where God is. The attractions and allures of this world should ultimately be “foreign” to us for these are not a part of who we are anymore. The “promises” of this world we no longer cherish, nor do we believe the promises of this world anymore; we are looking to the promises that our God has for us. The promise of eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ, the promise that treasures on earth are temporary and the promise of a new heaven and a new earth where there will be no more pain, sorrow, grief, or death (Revelation 21) are promises upon which we can confidently lean. The anchor for our souls rests not in the sands of this world, but upon the solid Rock of Jesus Christ and upon God’s promises that are steady and sure through every season of our lives.
In order to take hold, all the more fervently, of God’s promises, we must cultivate an indifference to this world. This does not mean that we are to neglect our families nor are we to neglect our earthly responsibilities. Furthermore, this does not mean that we view all the physical aspects of this world, along with all the physical pleasures that are accompanied with it, as evil or merely base. God made this world and He called it all “good” and “very good” (Genesis 1). We are not to have disdain for that which God has called good. On the other hand, this world is tainted with sin and every faculty of our being is touched by sin, therefore, we must be on guard against sin as long as we live in this world and in these mortal, frail bodies. The indifference we are to cultivate for this world is to reside within the passions and the desires of our hearts, of our innermost beings. We are to be devoted to God alone. We are to worship the Creator alone, and not what He has created. We are to give glory to God alone, and not to give glory to that which He has created. We are not to exchange the glory of God for mere idols (see Romans 1), rather we should smash our idols and give God the glory while we do it. Given the great and precious promises that God has for His children, the draw to sin and to this world should begin to pale in comparison to what He has for us and in comparison to what He has done for us in Christ. We are to cultivate an indifference for this world realizing that we cannot take anything from this world with us once we die. All that remains when we die is whether we have trusted in Christ for salvation, as well as whether we have devoted our lives to His cause or not. Only by setting our eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our salvation, can our eyes more readily divert themselves from the glitter of this world. That old hymn says it all:
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
