QT 2: The Call to Stay (for Now)
Life is full of seasons. Our weather patterns are centered around the four seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. We speak about human life-stages as seasons. In the Bible, Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” As we live out our lives, we will all have to ask the question at some point that The Clash asked us back in 1981: “Should I stay, or should I go?”
You probably ask the question “should I stay, or should I go?” in many different situations: at parties, at sporting events, during a conversation, at your job, waiting in line at a restaurant, at church, in your bed, at this retreat, etc. But you are not the first to ask this question, nor will you be the last one. For this devotional, we will be looking at what it means for us to “stay.” Before we begin, take a moment and write down your answers to the following questions:
- Where do you feel most at “home”?
- How important is it for your well-being to have a “home”?
- Do you have a “home” to go to when you die? Why or why not?
Looking for a Place to Stay:
The Bible helps to give us some answers to the last question from above:
1) A Christian’s home is not here on earth, but with Christ in Heaven, and they will go to spend eternity with Christ in a new, perfected heavens and earth upon his return to judge the living and the dead.
2) Those who reject Jesus here on earth will be judged for their rejection of the Son of God, and these unbelievers will spend eternity in Hell as punishment for their sins.
-- Read John 14:1-3 –
For those who believe in Jesus, there is the expectation of a future place, one that is prepared by Jesus himself, for those who love him. The place he prepares for believers is better than any place here on earth, because it is a place not made by human hands, but by the hands of God. When Jesus returns, he will bring all his followers to this new place, to Paradise, to dwell with him there in the City of God.
-- Read Hebrews 11:1-3 & 11:8-16 –
Here is a line from a sermon I heard from Mike Pohlman at Southern Seminary, “what does every city in the world have in common? It is the wrong city.” Wherever you go, wherever you stay, if it is a place here on earth, it is not the right city.
This section of Hebrews, often called the Hall of Faith, showcases the faithfulness of past followers of God. The recounting of Abraham’s faith is particularly important for understanding the purpose behind our “going,” and our living as exiles in the world. Abraham is said to have been “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb 11:10). As Abraham put his faith in God’s promise to show him a land, he left his home and went out to seek the land that God was to show him (Gen 12:1-4). For Christians, our lives should be characterized by our pursuit of God’s City.
-- Read 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 –
Paul helps to present another aspect of what it means for the Christians home to be in heaven. Not only do we have a place in heaven, but our souls will have a better residence in a better body, a perfected body (2 Cor 5:1). As we groan for our future, permanent, perfected bodies, we work to please God, since we know that all people will be judged by God on the last day to receive either punishment or reward for how we lived on earth (2 Cor 2-10). Again, we see here that for those who please God, those who follow Jesus, there is a better home awaiting them.
-- Read Matthew 25:31-46 --
Here, Jesus describes for us what the Final Judgment will look like when he returns in his glory. Those who have followed Jesus and trusted in God will inherit the kingdom prepared for them. Those who have not followed Jesus will inherit what they deserve for rejecting Jesus, God’s Son: “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt 25:41). Jesus describes for us here the only two “homes” available for people go to when they die, heaven or hell, based on whether they have believed in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins or not.
After looking at where the Bible tells us we are going, take some time to answer the following questions:
What does it look like for me to stay and grow in my faith at Valleydale for the next (a) semester, (b) year, (c) 2 years, (d) 5 years, (e) 20 years?
2. Am I seeking the City of God by the way I live my life?
Going to Stay for a While:
Now let’s look at what “staying” where we are (or where we are going) looks like.
-- Read Acts 14:1-7 --
During Paul’s ministry of “going” to preaching the Gospel, he had to “stay” in the places where God led him to minister to. At times, Paul would stay for a few days at the most (Acts 20:6). At other times, Paul would stay in a place for years (Acts 19:10, 28:30). He also had to realize when the time to “go” had come (Acts 14:5-6). But wherever Paul went, he knew that he had a purpose in the places where God had him staying at: to preach the Gospel. Paul, an exemplar of the Christian’s call to be a witness for Christ, had the wisdom to determine when to stay and when to go, and he also kept the goal of his ministry in sight (1 Cor 9:24-27). Wherever Christians are, the mission is the same: to make disciples of all nations by sharing the Gospel.
- Consider this: You might not feel ready to commit to “go” for a prolonged period of time, but surely you can give up a few days to share the Gospel, can’t you?
- As you consider to “go,” write down some things that you can do while you prepare to “go.”
-- Read Jeremiah 29:4-7 –
During Israel’s exile in the Old Testament, God told them to “seek the welfare of the city,” where they were. For Christians, who are sojourners and exiles (1 Pet 2:11), we should seek to grow where we are, until we should reach our destination of the City of God.
- What does it look like to “seek the welfare of the city” where you are?
- Think about how you can spend the time you have now in the city you live in now to be a bold witness for Christ.
-- Read 3 John 5-8 –
As we wrap up this devotion, we will discuss what to do as a “stay-er.” As some “go,” some must “stay,” and be senders. In Romans 10:15, Paul asks, “how are they to preach unless they are sent?” For “stay-ers,” it is imperative that they send our “goers” in a Christ-honoring way (3 John 6). By sending, “stay-ers” are “fellow workers of the truth,” and make it possible for people to “go.”
- How can you help to send “goers” well?
- Are you discipling anyone right now? If you answered “no,” why not?
- How can you invest in the next generation of “goers”?