The Unchangeable Rock of Truth in Times of Religious and Moral Fluidity

I had a coffee date with some great friends out in the desert yesterday.  We were all glad to see each other, yet we were all weary with world events.  It was a somewhat discouraging time, as we agreed how much of a minority we, as Christians, have become.  We should not be surprised at the trials and injustices we face.  (1 Peter 4:12.)  Jesus warned us-more than once-that the world would hate us; Matt. 10:21-23, Mark 13:13, Luke 21:17, John 15:18.  Why does the world hate us?  Because we do not belong to the world, but were chosen out of it.  (John 15:19.)  I think we are seeing very clearly now just how polarized our culture has become.  If a Christian is going to make a stand for Biblical beliefs, they need to be willing to lose friends, family, even their jobs for it.  Even now, people are in jail because of their faith in God.  We are seeing just how true the Bible is when it tells us that our citizenship is not on earth.    (Hebrews 11:13, 1 Peter 1:17)  We are not welcome here, and that is daily becoming more evident; yet we are not without a home- we are waiting for a better country, a country whose founder and architect is God Himself.  (Hebrews 11:16.)  God has prepared this better country for us, and so we wait in faith.  (John 14:2,3, Eph. 2:19.)  Our citizenship is there, in Heaven. (Phil. 3:20.)

So, then, what do we do while we wait to become citizens of Heaven?  How do we conduct ourselves now, as sojourners and pilgrims passing through a foreign and hostile land?  We who suffer according to God's will should commit ourselves to our faithful creator and continue to do good.  (1 Peter 4:19.)