Ezekiel 11:16-17 — Therefore say, Thus saith The Lord; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. Therefore say, Thus saith The Lord; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

Yesterday I talked of my longing for the home that I have never seen. Today I am reminded that, as John Doberstein comments about Dietrich Bonnhoeffer in his introduction to Bonhoeffer’s “Life Together”, I am a citizen of this world, where God has placed me. I must be at home where I am placed.

For too long, perhaps, Christians in America have been comfortable living in communities insulated from many of the challenges of oppression, enmity and isolation. It was not so for Jesus and his disciples, nor for the early church. It is not so for many Christians today in other countries, and it may not be so much longer for us. What of it? The longing to be gone from this world, and to be at home with The Lord was not strange to Paul — and he had plenty of reason:

Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

They never tried to hide. Paul and Peter, James and John — all the apostles — they stood firm in the places where God had placed them.

There is another side to all of this. Do you sometimes feel you have it soft — and think about whether you should be somewhere else, doing one thing tougher, more significant? Well, you might be right — but you might be wrong too! Unless you know beyond doubt that you have a definite call you might be seeking to fill someone else’s shoes!
As a Christian I don’t get to choose when to stay and when to go. I don’t get to choose where I am to serve. Wherever He puts me, until he moves me, the mission of a citizen is clear. In “Life Together” Pastor Bonhoeffer expresses it perfectly. I am to minister by managing my tongue, by thinking little of myself and putting my neighbors will and honor ahead of mine, by being a willing listener, by being actively helpful, by bearing others burdens, by proclaiming the word and by wearing the mantle of authority when I must.

If we carry out the duties of a citizen wherever we are scattered, God has promised us a reward. He will be a “little sanctuary” for us, and we will be assembled together in the Body of Christ. … And wherever the Body is, I must be at home.