There's No Place for 'Settlers' in God's Kingdom

I was reading an aticle about Jewish settlements in Israel's West Bank; and I was suddenly struck by the double meaning of the word “settle”: 1) to establish and maintain a residence, or 2) to be satisfied with less. Then I recalled the American pioneers who traveled cross country to California, many of whom grew weary and “settled” communities along the way but fell short of their final destination. You could say these “settlers” “settled” for less. A further reflection on these words provides two relevant applications!

First, we are not to be settled in this world. Despite King David's progress in settling more of the Promised Land during his reign than any other time in Israel's history, David remained strangely ‘unsettled’: “I am a traveler passing through life, as my fathers were before me” (Ps. 39:12). Jesus depicted his disciples as “not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:14). Paul spoke of “our citizenship in heaven” (Phil. 3:20) and warned of being “conformed” [settled in] to this world” (Ro. 12:2). Peter used the term “aliens and strangers” (1 Pet. 2:11) to describe believers.

Second, we should never settle for less than God’s best for us. Paul's commitment to excellence is expressed by these words: “I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus… [and] one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phi. 3:12-14).

Paul was neither a settler nor a settler! If you have become a little too settled on earth (in your job, your church, your circumstances), be careful that you are not settling for less than God's best.