December 22

“Having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” Hebrews 11:13

What does it mean to be a stranger and a pilgrim? Let me use an illustration. During my stay in England, shortly before the Munich crisis, I noticed people preparing for war by digging trenches. preparing shelters, and distributing masks for poisonous gas. My feelings at that time were entirely different from those of the Englishmen. I watched them prepare for war until the news came that a pact had been signed.

Many could not sleep that night. They sang and they shouted. But what was my reaction? I watched unmoved. While they had been busily preparing for war, I had watched coldly; now when they rejoiced over peace, I still watched coldly. I was a sojourner. I would soon go away. In their joy and in their sorrow I was merely an observer. So it was that I realized what it means to he an alien. My attitude toward England was neutral. I hoped for her good; I wished her peace; but my interests lay elsewhere.