Ice Age 2 - An Illustration about Aliens And Strangers

Last week I took my nephew to see the Movie Ice Age 2: The Meltdown. There was one section of the movie that made me think of a passage in First Peter.

If you've seen the movie, or a preview for the movie, you're familiar with the squirrel, who, throughout the movie, is on a never ending quest for the acorn. He tries and he tries to get that acorn, and meets with a variety of misadventures along the way. He never succeeds in getting the acorn.

But towards the end of the movie, the squirrel has a "near death" experience, and finds himself at the gates of Squirrel Heaven. A place where the streets are paved (of course) with acorns. The entire scene is utterly silly and absurd (but also quite funny!)

The squirrel grins, and dances, and gathers up acorns, and feels more at home than he has ever felt back in the ice age. And then he sees it. The mother of all acorns - a giant acorn to put all other acorns to shame. And just as he is about to grasp the giant acorn...

...someone back in the ice age gives him mouth-to-mouth, and brings him back to life.

That was one very unhappy squirrel, who would never again feel at home in the ice age.

In I Peter 2:11, Peter calls us "aliens and strangers". The implication is that we are foreigners, that we do not belong in this world.

We are born into this world, and we feel right at home in this world, until we are given something different - until we are given a taste of the grace, forgiveness, and love of Jesus Christ. And when we experience this love, we discover a citizenship in a world entirely separate from this place of trouble, this place of unrealized hopes, desires and dreams. And once we have discovered that citizenship, we are forever spoiled for this material existence. We will never again feel at home in this world.

Sometimes Christians work very hard at "fitting in", and "belonging" in this world. But we are like that squirrel in the ice age: once we've tasted the goodness of God, there is no hope of ever truly fitting in again. We are foreigners and strangers to this world, whether we like it or not. And the healthiest Christians are the ones who come to terms with this notion that though we are now in the world, we will never fit into it.