Daniel 1:1-21

Hope in a hostile world

Part 1

God's people in exile

Daniel was a part of the people forcibly taken from Israel to live in Babylon. Daniel knew a lot about politics, but he also knew about being an outsider. The Israelites were aliens in Babylon and they mourned the loss of Jerusalem. They wondered when their captivity would end.

The book of Daniel speaks to people of Christian faith who find themselves as foreigners in a hostile culture. We don't quite fit in anymore. It takes a lot of courage to be a Christian in most contexts today. How do we relate to this world? Do we keep a low profile? Do we try to fit in? How do we prosper in a world where we do not fit in?

Prospering in exile

Living in this world, we have to draw theine somewhere. Some things are going too far. For Daniel it was quite a private thing - the food he ate. His stand was not agressive or disruptive, it was a simple choice. It was a away of him saying that despite all things being stripped away he still belonged to God.

We each have our own battle and lines to draw. In order to know our line, we must know our heart. Whatever threatens to remove Christ from the throne of our heart is where we should draw our line.

If you want to maintain your identity in a hostile world, you need to beware what for you is the "king's food". Know your heart so that your spiritual appetite is not ruined. We cannot take a stand publicly if we cannot stick to our convictions in private. Each time we do not say no, it will get harder.

Daniel remained in Babylon for many years. The lesson is that he was there for God's kingdom, and so he remained. Daniel knew that God's reign was above any nation and so he could serve the one true king anywhere he was called to. Daniel did not remove himself from the place he was called to. Instead he engaged in the culture in order to bring God's kingdom to those who lived there.

It's it which city we live in, but the city we live for.