“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia…” (1 Peter 1:1 CSB).
This reference to “exiles” becomes easier to grasp once we identify some important background information from the Biblical book of 1 John. In 1 John 5:19 we’re told, “…the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). That reference to the “evil one” is an allusion to Satan, a being Jesus identified as “the enemy” in Matthew 13:39.
In light of that influence, the Bible uses the term “world” to represent the attitudes, values, and belief systems that reject the one true God (see John 8:23 and James 4:4 for some examples). Therefore, we can say that a world that is under the spiritual influence of God’s enemy is certain to exhibit varying degrees of hostility towards God, along with anyone who follows Him.
This also means that those who seek to follow Christ will inevitably feel like strangers or outsiders within this world. That helps explain why the epistle of 1 Peter begins with an address to those who are, “…God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners” (NLT). This passage should also prompt us to ask an important question: “Do I feel at home in this world, or do I feel as if I am a stranger in a world that is hostile or indifferent to Christ?”
Before we answer that question, we should first think about what “home” represents. While there are many home environments that are broken, dysfunctional, or less than ideal, let’s consider what a home should be for the purpose of this illustration. For instance, when we think about the characteristics of a place called “home,” there are a few things that likely come to mind…
- Home is a place where we are accepted.
- Home is a place where we belong.
- Home is a place where we feel most comfortable.
- Home is the place where we seek to return whenever we’ve been away.
- Home is a familiar place, a place where we spend much of our time.
- Home is the place where we can relax with our friends and family members.
- Home is the place where we often find the people and things we love the most.
With these qualities in mind, let’s take those characteristics and replace the word “home” with “the world.” We’ll take a look at that comparison next.