Read
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
1 Peter 2:11
Reflect
A fugitive is someone who is running away from home.
A vagabond is someone who has no home.
A stranger is someone who is away from their home.
But what is a pilgrim?
The true meaning of the word can also be “stranger” or “one who takes a journey for a religious purpose.” But the voyagers of the early 1600s that we now know as the Pilgrims weren’t simply taking a journey. They were seeking a new home.
They had already left England because of religious persecution, and after years in Holland they crossed the Atlantic seeking a place where they could establish a new community and worship according to their convictions.
So in that context, a pilgrim is someone who, in a journey of faith, is on their way to their new home.
And that’s us.
All humans desire an earthly home, a place of belonging where they truly fit spiritually, emotionally and physically. Children and adults long for a safe and peaceful family home. Worshipers look for a spiritual home — a church — where they can unite with like-minded believers each week to express their faith in God.
But we, as Christians, are on a spiritual journey that will take a lifetime. Peter reminds us that we live here as “sojourners and exiles.” This world as we presently know it is not our final home. Our ultimate belonging is with Christ and in the kingdom He has prepared for us. The rest of eternity awaits us in the presence of the Lord and in the company of all the saints who have gone before us.
That’s an important point to consider because so many times we live this temporary life as though every moment is all-important.
Think of all the petty frustrations and arguments you’ve had. The annoying person in the checkout line ahead of you. The slow drivers in traffic on the way to work. The person who put the empty milk jug back into the fridge.
It’s not that these things aren’t frustrating. But are they worth the level of energy we give them, especially when we think about that moment in the scope of eternity?
Peter calls us “sojourners and exiles.” In the King James Version, the word translated “exiles” in the ESV is rendered “pilgrims.”
Again, that’s what we are — pilgrims.
We are living one day in a journey that will eventually bring us home. So live this day with joy and faithfulness. Don’t give temporary frustrations eternal importance. Keep walking toward the One who called you, living in a way that honors Him and trusting that He is leading you toward your true home.
Because when the journey is finally complete, you won’t be a stranger, an exile or a pilgrim anymore.
You’ll be home.
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Reflection copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt and Charles Fulton.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
