Resident Aliens

Today's Reading

One of the most remarkable documents from the early church is the anonymous Epistle to Diognetus, written sometime in the second or third century. It describes how Christians lived within the Roman Empire — not withdrawn into isolated communes, not violently opposed to the culture, but as a kind of third way:

"Christians are not distinguished from the rest of humanity by country, language, or custom... They live in their own countries, but only as sojourners. They share all things as citizens, and endure all things as foreigners. Every foreign country is their homeland, and every homeland is foreign" (Epistle to Diognetus, Chapters 5–6).

This was not a strategy document or a political platform. It was a description of how ordinary Christians actually lived. They paid taxes. They served in the army (this was debated). They married, had children, and participated in civic life. But they did not expose unwanted infants — a common Roman practice. They did not attend the gladiatorial games. They cared for the sick during plagues, when others fled. They buried the dead, including strangers, when Roman custom left them in the streets.

Biblical Connection

Peter, writing to scattered Christians in Asia Minor, coined the phrase that defines this posture: "Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 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" (1 Peter 2:11–12).

The pattern was not new. Centuries earlier, Jeremiah had told the exiles in Babylon: "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare" (Jeremiah 29:7). Not withdrawal. Not assimilation. But faithful, generous presence in a place that is not yet home.

Why It Matters

The early church did not conquer Rome through political power. It outserved it. When plagues struck in the second and third centuries, Christians stayed to nurse the sick — pagans and believers alike — while others fled. The sociologist Rodney Stark has estimated that this simple act of care was one of the most significant factors in Christianity's growth.

Christopher Wright captures the underlying theology: "It is not so much that God has a mission for his church in the world, as that God has a church for his mission in the world" (The Mission of God, Introduction). The church exists for the sake of the world — not to escape it, not to dominate it, but to serve it in the name of the One who came not to be served but to serve.

The early Christians were resident aliens. They belonged to another city. And precisely because of that, they were free to love the city they were in.