Exile paradox

We are all exiles.

It started many centuries ago when God had to send us away from our home-Eden/His Presence, as the punishment for our disobedience. The story can be found in Genesis chapter 3 and is commonly referred to as the Biblical account of the fall of man. In short, God created a perfect world, infused with and interwoven with His presence and gave mankind the authority to rule it exclusively on one condition; we were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

There have been endless speculations surrounding the ‘identity’ if you will, of the tree and its precise nature, such dialogue falls outside the scope of this particular article however, for the purposes of this devotional, it is widely accepted by the adherents of the Christian faith that the tree possessed both physical/natural, tangible characteristics as well as spiritual/metaphysical properties. In any case, our forebears disobeyed, and as a result they were evicted from the garden. Since then, the entire human race has been divided into 2 types of exiles:

1. Unbelievers. Those exiles who have not yet been reconnected to God in spirit. Dead in their transgressions and sins, they wander the face of the earth seeking fulfilment which can only be found in relationship with God. The apostle Paul postulated it perfectly in Ephesians 2:1-3; “…Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins…in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient…”.

---

1. The second set of exiles are Believers. Those exiles who were previously numbered among the disobedient but who have have committed themselves to the sanctification journey of becoming obedient. As they sojourn through this world to come to their one resting place, God’s presence, they experience glimpses of home by the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, they travel as strangers in this world, they are displaced here but they are not homeless as their homes is In God.

So essentially, we are all exiles. We’re either journeying away from God to a permanent state of separation from Him, or towards God to perpetually be with Him. What kind of exile are you?