1 Peter 1:17-19

"And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" 1 Peter 1:17-19

So you say you are a Christian. You claim to be a child of the King. You believe that God is in control of your life. If this is so, you should be walking judiciously in this world.

"Walking what?" Judiciously - you know, circumspectly. "Circum whatly?" Circumspectly, you know with great caution. "Oh, why didn't you say so. Uh, what do you mean and why do you mean it?"

Glad you asked - I thought you never would! George Barna, noted Christian analyst, has found that Christians, for the most part, are hardly distinguishable from non- Christians in their lifestyle. We want the same things - and more of them. We work the same jobs. We drive the same cars. We live in the same neighborhoods. Our divorce rate is identical to the world's. Our giving patterns are hardly greater than those of non-believers. In short, under the looking glass of reality, we differ little from the world we live in. Yet, we claim to be a different people - a peculiar people - offering a life that brings hope to a frustrated and lost soul. How can this be? Why are we not really different?

Peter says that we who are believers should conduct ourselves with "fear" during the time of our life on earth. There are several things of note here. First, we should live in "fear"? Certainly - oh, I'm sorry, let's define fear. In this case, fear is the healthy respect or Reverence for God. So we can safely say that fear is not that "hide under the mattress the devil is after me" type of fear. It is the "I'm in the presence of the God who has the power of life and death over me" type of fear. The first brings destruction. The second brings a sense of awe.

Second, "during our stay." This indicates that we are not permanent residents of earth. We are just visitors. If we are not going to stay on earth, that means that we are residents of another place. Where is that? Heaven. We are here as God's ambassadors - His representatives. We should be busy doing His work - and we should be careful to live our lives to faithfully represent Him and His interests. We are not here to enjoy ourselves, to indulge ourselves, or to enrich ourselves. We are here to fulfill the mission God has given us. Our time here is short. We must be busy doing the work of the Kingdom.

Think on these things today. See if they don't hold true. Ask if you are living as a citizen of earth - or the Kingdom. Examine your life and answer faithfully and truthfully. You may be surprised at the answers. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.