Paroikos is the greek word which means stranger, traveler, exile, sojourner, someone who is away from home. This site is an online journal of my thoughts, impressions, anectdotes, etc as I journey throughout the world wherever the mission board sends me working to spread the gospel.
I am reminded by this term, paroikos, what a wonderful thing it is that this world is not our home. When you leave your home and go camping or to a remote cabin without electricity, or like myself half way around the world to underdeveloped nations, it is not so hard to live without those comforts for a time because you know that it is only a short time. Soon you will return home to what you know and are used to. So too, as we live in this world and we are confronted day and night with discomfort and hardship, we who know the Lord do not care or worry, because we know this is not our home. When we see the vast amounts of poverty, crime, neglect, and unjustness that are so prevelant in this world, we praise the Lord that soon all this will be gone. The world is caught up in an endless losing battle to fix these problems, but the world can not fix the problem of sin. Only Jesus can and has. We rejoice that unlike the world our battle is not a losing cause but one that is won already. We are Paroikous, and our walk is heavenly all the way.
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” 1 John 3:1
Matthew Ude