There is Alien Life
As surprising as it may sound, the Scriptures are very clear that alien life exists. These aliens are not little green beings transported here by space ships, as some are convinced exist. Even so, the aliens the Bible speaks about come to populate the Earth through a process even more astonishing than any imagined tail of intergalactic travel and invasion.
What is this astounding event?
Salvation—the act of a human laying down their life and all rights of self-rule at the feet of Jesus and supernaturally becoming a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). At that very moment, this person becomes an alien in a foreign land as their home switches from planet Earth to Heaven and their fealty from the world to the Kingdom of God.
Chapter 11 of the Book of Hebrews provides a narrative of those commended for their Christian faith. Here, Abraham is specifically mentioned as being an alien who lived in a temporary structure (a tent) while looking forward to a future home with a real foundation (Hebrews 11:9-10). We know the home Abraham anticipated is Heaven (Philippians 3:20). This same chapter also tells us that Abraham and his family knew they were 'strangers and exiles on the earth' (Hebrews 11:13-16).
What exactly is an alien?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an alien is a person who relates to, belongs to, or owes allegiance to another country or government. As Christians, we know our allegiance is to Jesus alone and that we no longer serve the systems of the world, which are Satan's realm.
Additionally, an alien is a person differing in nature or character, typically to the point of incompatibility. This is significant for us. This means that, as followers of Jesus, we no longer fit in this world. There is nothing we can adopt here as our own. Everything about our new life is irreconcilable with our former existence.
Other words are used in Scripture to describe our alien existence. They complete the word picture of how God views our very brief years on this planet:
Foreign - something so different as to be rejected or repelled or incapable of being assimilated.
Stranger - one who does not belong.
Exile - a person who is forced to live in a foreign country.
Sojourner - a temporary resident.
Aliens do not naturally share the language, values, or customs of the place where they dwell. They have different thoughts, words, actions, traditions, goals, desires, and perspectives. Aliens live under foreign rule, and many times do not enjoy the favor of the rulers. Jesus told us that, as His followers, we would experience these very things. He also taught that, because we no longer paid allegiance to the world or what it offered, we should not be surprised if the world hated us (John 15:18-19).
As disciples of Jesus, we are not to cozy up to the world around us. There are to be degrees of separation from it both spiritually and emotionally (1 Peter 2:11, 1 John 2:15-17). However, this does not mean we can just 'check out' or build self-righteous, exclusionary walls between us and the world around us.
Jesus told us to go into all the world and engage it (Mark 16:15). And as we go, we are to live in an honorable manner, responsibly following Jesus as He leads us (1 Peter 2:12).
Our hope lies in our future eternal home with Jesus, not here in this temporary place.
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(2 Corinthians 5:17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
(Hebrews 11:9-10) By faith he [Abraham] went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
(Philippians 3:20) But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Hebrews 11:13-16) These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
(John 15:18-19) “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me [Jesus] before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
(1 Peter 2:11) Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
(1 John 2:15-17) Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
(Mark 16:15) And he [Jesus] said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”
(1 Peter 2:12) Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
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Scripture quotations are taken 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.