Sojourner
What is a sojourner? A sojourner is a pilgrim, a traveller, someone who is passing through a strange land. This is an apt description of the Christian and living the Christian walk. The apostle Paul, for instance, reminds us that our citizenship is in heaven. Peter describes his early Christian audience as exiles. Elsewhere, followers of Christ are encouraged by the faith of Abraham who sojourned in the land of promise and had his eyes fixed on the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Because a sojourner is passing through, his lifestyle and choices may seem odd or quaint to observers. Our goals and desires will be strikingly counter-cultural, and this will influence our use of money and time. How we think about politics and power should differ. How we seek to raise our children will necessarily differ from the secular world around us. People should look at us and be able to see ‘sojourner’ written all over us. We march to a different beat.
At times Christians have thought that since we are strangers in this world, we should concentrate on ‘saving souls’. Worrying about anything else is pointless for sojourners. Here we would argue that Christians are called not only to share the good news of peace with God through the atoning death of Jesus Christ, but we are encouraged to impact and influence the societies we find ourselves in.
There is tension in this. Our Lord Jesus Christ described this himself in his high priestly prayer. In this prayer he said,
They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world….. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
JOHN 17:16,18
Sojournal
For Christ, not belonging to this world did not mean having nothing to do with this world. Other notable examples include the Israelites in Babylonian captivity, who although they had been promised a return from their exile, were nonetheless encouraged to seek the good of Babylon, and the father of faith, Abraham, who although a sojourner, bought land, interceded for a city, and fought a battle.
So what is The Sojournal? Here we as sojourners relay our thoughts on how we can live godly and effective lives in the present age while we wait for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Our standard is God’s Holy Scriptures. We try our utmost to let God through his Word and by his Spirit influence our thoughts on living a life worthy of the calling we have received.