Love the Sojourner

Navigating belonging on earth through the concept of heavenly citizenship

This article is part of the Claritas spring 2024 issue, Home. Read the full print release here.

By: jillian shaw

The average American moves eleven times in their lifetime—typically once or twice in childhood and a few times in adulthood as career and family situations change. [1] I have moved seven times in my twenty years of life. If I continue at this rate, I will have moved over twenty-five times by the age of seventy-five. 

My dad is in the volatile advertising agency business, so moving often was necessary. But for me, it always seemed unexpected. I felt swept away right when I finally made my group of friends and knew the way around school. I would leave with warm, albeit unrealistic, promises to text every day, just to enter a new town with strange buildings, strange people, and a strange bedroom that didn’t feel like it was mine. 

Moving created noticeable rhythms in my childhood. It marked new friendships, new interests, and new personalities. With each move, I tried out a new method of fitting in. In North Carolina, I attached myself to the loud kid in class and let her decide my friends and my fashion choices. In Washington, I became close with my neighbors and spent every afternoon with them. In Pennsylvania, I initially pushed away any real friends with my moody pre-teen attitude. In every location, there was always the unavoidable first week of school. No one to sit with at lunch, no one to chat with between classes, and no one to make plans with after school. There was a true sense of isolation.

In my years of moving up and down the East Coast, I coped with the frequent changes by detaching from friendships and cutting ties quickly. I lived with the expectation of leaving soon. In 2010, the American Psychological Association published a study about moving repeatedly in childhood that resonates with my experience. The lead researcher, Shigehiro Oishi, said, “Moving a lot makes it difficult for people to maintain long-term close relationships.” [2] Similarly, a 2012 study published in BMC Public Health suggests that moving in early childhood causes an increased risk of internalizing behaviors like social withdrawal, shyness, and feelings of anxiety or depression. [3] In my own life, my detachment coping mechanisms have had negative impacts on the quality of my relationships and my well-being.

Moving, however, also provided me the opportunity to meet new people, try new foods, and live adventurously. Moving has shaped me to be more flexible, adaptive, and willing to encounter changes. But despite the positive aspects of moving, I desired to belong and be comforted through the uncertainties of my life on earth.

The loneliness and homesickness and desire to belong that accompany moving are universal human experiences. We want a community to be a part of, friends to rely on, and places and people to comfort us. 

For many students, college is the first significant move of their lives. In our new collegiate homes, we seek out community and belonging by joining clubs, engaging in hobbies, and knocking on each other's doors in the freshman dorms during orientation week. We dream about having a boisterous group of friends to watch the sunset on the slope with, or maybe just one best friend to go on day trips to the farmers’ market with. 

While the reality at Cornell often falls short of fulfilling this ideal, it is comforting to remember the words of Jesus in John 14. He tells us that there are many rooms in his Father’s house, and that he goes and prepares a place for us. [4] This preparation shows Jesus’ support and love for us. He provides us with the sense of belonging that we deeply desire. On the contrary, Cornell seems unprepared for us. There is a housing shortage on campus (and in Collegetown), only some buildings have AC, and the fire alarms often go off just as you’ve fallen asleep. While, over time, we may come to tolerate the treks up the slope and the unreliable TCAT schedule, it is clear that Cornell is an imperfect home and has not prepared a place for us in the way that Christ has.

This is not to say that Cornell hasn’t tried to promote belonging. It's quite the contrary—among Cornell’s core values is “a community of belonging,” which is rooted in Ezra Cornell’s statement of “any person, any study.” [5] Cornell approaches belonging in terms of diversity and inclusion, aiming to curate a space where different backgrounds and perspectives are empowered. Within the Department of Diversity and Inclusion, Cornell lays out a “Belonging at Cornell” framework with metrics like sense of belonging, recommendation score, and fairness. [6] These metrics seem to indicate that Cornell views belonging as social acceptance rather than support, love, and stability.

Unfortunately, all the dialogue about belonging, diversity, and inclusion rarely brings tangible results. In 2023, Forbes noted that 62% of workers say Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging initiatives are not effective, with 46% of workers saying the programs have “failed them personally.” [7] In my own research, I struggled to find evidence of ways Cornell implements DEI policies to foster belonging successfully. While universities and businesses have well-intentioned aims when creating DEI programs, there seems to be something missing.

Belonging initiatives, like other social and political programs, are at their best important, albeit imperfect, attempts to satisfy this innate longing for home and belonging that we have. In the Christian tradition, we know that this longing can only be truly quenched in the kingdom of God. Though humanity endeavors to replicate the acceptance and inclusion of God’s kingdom, Ephesians 2 illuminates that the household of God is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” [8] Each member, including the apostles, prophets, and believers, is integrated into the structure. This inclusion into one structure demonstrates unity and wholeness. Importantly, Jesus’ placement as the cornerstone represents the stability He provides, with each member fully dependent on and supported by Him. Jesus is central to the flourishing of the household. The deep belonging we strive to find at Cornell is ultimately only guaranteed through Christ. 

The apostle Peter contends that believers “are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [God’s] own possession.” [9] By believing in the death and redemption of Christ, we are joining God’s kingdom and receiving heavenly citizenship. [10] This proclamation of mercy and citizenship hints at a transformative existence, casting believers as “sojourners”—citizens of heaven navigating as strangers on earth. 

The term sojourner, gēr (גר) in Hebrew, refers to any individuals or groups temporarily displaced “dependent on the ‘good-will’ of [their hosting] community for their continued existence.” [11] “Sojourner” often conveys a sense of vulnerability and dependence that reflects the complexities of intergroup relations and coexistence. It refers to legal and social status, ethical principles, as well as personal identities. In the Old Testament, the term is most often used in relation to place. For example in Genesis, God tells Abram his descendants will be sojourners (גר) for many years before receiving the promised land. [12] 

The ancient concept of sojourning is fundamental to the Old Testament narrative and the construction of the moral society of the Israelites—not only because of the collective memory of sojourning in Egypt, but also due to its prominence in the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments were for the flourishing of a morally good life, and to serve as underlying themes and structures of the other, more specific Levitical laws. Exodus 20 lays out the commandments as a revelation of life in an ordered way. Exodus 20:8-10 states: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. [emphasis added]” [13] In remembrance of the Israelites’ exile and lack of rest in Egypt, sojourners were included in the Sabbath vision and part of God’s gift of rest. 

The inclusion of sojourners in the Ten Commandments is inherently an act of social justice, signifying the deliberate inclusion of a once marginalized community in God’s design for society. The Israelites are called to accept and care for those temporarily residing in their land. Deuteronomy reinforces this principle by reminding the Israelites of God's love for sojourners, urging them to “love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” [14]  

This ancient call to love sojourners still applies today as God calls us to love our neighbors and live out our heavenly citizenship during our earthly experience. This newfound citizenship can, in some ways, encourage a detached style of living similar to my childhood coping mechanisms. However, the action of pouring out love grounds the idea of being a citizen of heaven to a physical calling. Rather than setting our eyes on heaven and ignoring life on earth, love enables us to be part of God’s redemptive mission on earth and transform earth to be more like heaven. 

Similar to much of the Christian life, this is lived out both individually and communally. As individuals, our conduct is meant to point others to God. Peter implores us to “abstain from the passions of the flesh” and “keep [our] conduct among the Gentiles honorable” so that “they may see [our] good deeds and glorify God.” [15] Our life's mission is to bring glory to God, and this mission extends into the alternative life as a sojourner. While asserting our status as citizens of heaven refocuses our identity in Christ and brings us comfort, we have a higher calling to be light to others and reflect the glory of God on all creation. 

Our responsibility extends beyond personal strivings to actively seek the welfare of the cities we have been placed in. This is echoed in Jeremiah 29:7, where God’s people are instructed to seek the welfare of the city in which they have been sent, “for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” [16] At Cornell, this translates to working towards the welfare of our campus and praying for its flourishing. Recognizing that we are being sent out to do the just work God has prepared for us, we understand that our well-being is intrinsically linked to the well-being of the communities we inhabit. 

Life within the tensions of Christ’s first and second coming is full of unpredictability and uncertainty—whether it is moving, adjusting to college, losing a job or a loved one. Putting my identity in heaven and engaging in God’s just plan for humanity has brought me comfort, belonging, and a transcendent home. While I could not find lasting belonging in a location or place, I was able to find belonging in Christ and the fellowship of His Church. 

In response to the belonging I found in Jesus, I made an active choice in my last years of high school and at Cornell to be heavily involved in groups I cared about: I developed a rock climbing club with my high school friends, led a Bible study group, organized events for my ROTC battalion, edited for Claritas, joined a small group at my church. Instead of fearfully pushing others away, I chose to build loving, welcoming communities even if I would move away in a year or two. As Christ has brought me into the household of the Lord, I aimed to invite in strangers and people longing for a place to belong. 

In striving to fulfill the call to promote justice, love, and flourishing within our cities, we are not only agents of change but also vessels through which heaven–and ultimate belonging–is brought to earth. 

[1] Doyle, Karen. 2023. “How Americans Move.” Nasdaq.com.

[2] Hamilton, Audrey. “Moving Repeatedly in Childhood.” American Psychological Association. [3] Rumbold et al. “House Moves during Childhood.” BMC Public Health.
[4] John 14:2-4 (ESV)

[5] Cornell University. “Cornell University Core Values.” Office of the President.

[6] Cornell University. “Belonging at Cornell.” Diversity and Inclusion.

[7] Caprino, Kathy. “Why Many DEI Programs Are Failing.” 

[8] Ephesians 2:20-21 (ESV)

[9] 1 Peter 2:9 (ESV)

[10] Ephesians 2:19 (ESV)

[11] Spencer, John. “Sojourner.” Oxford Bibliographies. 

[12] Genesis 15:13 (ESV)

[13] Exodus 20:8-10 (ESV)

[14] Deuteronomy 10:19 (ESV)

[15] 1 Peter 2:11-12 (ESV)

[16] Jeremiah 29:7 (ESV)