On MissionSample

Strangers In A Strange Land

About thirty years ago, the course of my parents’ lives changed forever as they migrated from China and made Australia their new home. As strangers in a strange land, they found themselves immersed in a different language and in the eccentric Aussie culture. Despite this, they preserved their Chinese identity – the tonal inflections of Mandarin and Cantonese echoing through the house, and steaming bowls of homemade wonton soup for lunch. 

In a similar way, Daniel and his friends became strangers in Babylon after Judah fell to the Babylonians and the Israelites were taken into exile. Despite being immersed in the idol-worshipping ways of the Babylonians, Daniel and his friends were adamantly faithful in preserving their identity as God’s people, refusing to violate the Israelite food laws (v. 8). God had instituted the food laws for the purpose of making His people holy and distinct from the other surrounding nations, and Daniel and his friends would not compromise. In the unfamiliar strangeness of Babylon, the ever-faithful God was present with them – giving them favour and compassion in the sight of their captors (v. 9); sustaining their bodies (vv. 12–16); and equipping them with learning in literature and wisdom (v. 17). Most remarkably, God used Daniel and his friends to be a blessing in this foreign place, for even the king of Babylon ‘found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom’ (v. 20). 

In parallel to my parents’ journeys, I’ve ventured out from my hometown of Sydney and have made a new home in an Aboriginal community in the dusty ‘top-end’ of Australia. As a stranger in this strange land, I find myself somewhat lost in a sea of languages and in a river of time that seems to flow differently. I’m reminded from Daniel that even in strange places, where God may not be known and where others may think of us as strange, we are called to preserve our identity as God’s people and to be uncompromisingly holy and distinct. In whatever strange place we may get lost in, God is present and at work, as He sustains us and equips us to be a blessing to all the nations. Where are you, stranger?

Written by ANTON ZHANG | MISSION AVIATION FELLOWSHIP  IN ARNHEM LAND

Want more? Check out the Real Hope Conversations Podcast and listen to Barry Jessen from Samaritan's Purse delve deeper into the topic of On Mission. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.