“For this world is not our permanent home; we are
looking forward to a home yet to come.”
(Hebrews 13:14)
Thoughts… After serving as a missionary for forty years in Africa, Henry C. Morrison became sick and had to return to America. As the great ocean liner docked in New York Harbor, there was a great crowd gathered to welcome home another passenger on that boat. Morrison watched as President Teddy Roosevelt received a grand welcome home party after his African Safari.
Resentment seized Morrison and he turned to God in anger, “I have come back home after all this time and service to the church and there is no one, not even one person here to welcome me home.”
Then a still small voice came to Morrison and said, “You’re not home yet.”
And neither are you!
As we used to sing in the little country church I grew up in, “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.”
And that is the truth, my friend. Heaven is not just some pie-in-the-sky theology the preacher spouts to make you feel better. It is the promise of our Lord himself and the clear teaching of Scripture. In fact, nothing else the Bible says, promises, or calls you to do makes sense without the assurance of eternal life, the reality of life after death and the imminence of heaven. Without heaven, the birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus was wasted. Without heaven, the church, our worship, world evangelization and the sum of the Christian life are all irrelevant. But thanks be to God, the promise of heaven is our blessed hope, and as Paul says in Romans 5:5, this hope will not disappoint!
So as you go about your day, don’t let yourself feel too at home in this world—there is a better one coming sooner than you think.
Prayer… Lord, don’t let me get too earth bound. Keep reminding me that heaven is my real home, and help me to live every day on earth with that in mind.
One More Thing… “God destines us for an end beyond the grasp of reason.” —Thomas Aquinas
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