How should we live as Christians in a world that is not our ultimate home?

In his devotional, Jeffrey D. Johnson reminds us that while we live in a world that feels like Babylon, our ultimate hope lies beyond it. We are encouraged to have hope, even if our current circumstances seem endless. Johnson stresses that our lives are not just about waiting for the Lord's return or escaping our current situation. Instead, we are called to live proactively, making decisions that reflect our faith over the coming days, months, and years.

Johnson emphasizes that our ultimate purpose is not anchored in earthly achievements but in heavenly treasures. Our aim should be to glorify God and lay up treasures in heaven, rather than focusing solely on worldly success or raising children who do not know the Lord. As pilgrims in a foreign land, we must adjust to the world's rules and laws, while maintaining our identity as strangers, knowing that our current situation is temporary. We should be productive and establish God's glory on earth, understanding that our time here will eventually come to an end.

Philippians 3:20 (NKJV): "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."

You're not living altogether for Babylon. So you have hope. It's like this is coming to an end. But you've got to realize 70 years for the length of a man's life could be the rest of your life. So you've got to have hope, but you also have to have this realization that I have to still live out tomorrow and the next day and the day after that.

So I can't just wait on the Lord's return. I can't just wait to get out of Babylon. I've got to be proactive in what I do in the next few weeks, the next few months, the next few years. And that's what God has called us to do. We have our ultimate hope on the world to come.

We're really building, not treasures on earth. We're seeking to build and lay up treasures in heaven. And so this earth is not our ultimate purpose. Our ultimate purpose is not to raise good kids that don't know the Lord, but they're good and they have good work ethic and they have good businesses and they're good citizens and then they go to hell. That's not what our ultimate purpose is.

Ultimate purpose is glory. We're aiming for that. But that also incorporates that we're going to be here a while and our children's going to be here a little longer than we are going to be, then our grandchildren will be here. And so we're seeking to establish, we're seeking to establish God's glory on earth while we're living as pilgrims. I imagine me as an American citizen going off and living temporarily in a foreign nation.

I need to adjust myself to their rules and their laws and settle in there. But also realize I'm a pilgrim, I'm a stranger. And I know that while I'm here, I'm going to go ahead and buy a house, I'm going to go ahead and try to get some work, I'm going to go ahead and be productive, but knowing all the while that this will come to an end.