Resident Aliens




Surrounded by the displaced
I will work tirelessly
To renounce my citizenship.
My silhouette in this system
Is cast by the shadow of my ego,
The me that belongs was made for death
And I will no longer conform to its will. 


With everything that happened in 2016, the question of national identity and citizenship is a hot topic. This poem is named after the book by Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon which discusses the nature of the church and its relationships to the cultures it exists within. 

Christians are not supposed to be citizens belonging to the cultures of this world, but Resident Aliens, living uncomfortably within yet with our identity firmly planted in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. At a time when the world has more displaced people than ever on record, most of us in our comfortable western lives, will be encountering 'aliens' on a regular basis. Let this new year be an opportunity to extend grace to those who do not fit into our nation's cultural mores. Also, let this be an opportunity to learn what it looks like to live as an alien, to be resident where you are yet uncomfortable, because you belong to another kingdom.

Romans 12
1 Peter
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