Stranger

“I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.” (Psalm 119:19)

When I was growing up we used to sing a song that said, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through.” As I grow older the more I realize the truth of that old gospel song. Though we are place upon this earth to live for seventy or eighty years it is just a short time in light of eternity. John Newton knew the shortness of this life in comparison to eternity when he penned the words, “When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, than when we’ve first begun.”

As a stranger upon this earth we need someone to guide us. That is why the Psalmist prayed that God would not hide His commands from him. He knew that to live here as a stranger and a pilgrim he needed God’s commands. Many times we live our lives as if we were here for eternity rather than for a short time. When we realize, as David did, that our time is short and it is a preparation for eternity we too will pray that we know God’s commands.

Jesus told His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them and He was coming back for them. If He is preparing a place for us we need to prepare ourselves for that place. God’s Word gives us instruction on how to live. We need to be prepared people. Our prayer should be that God will teach us His ways and that we will walk in those ways.