Not home
The older I get, the more thankful I am that Heaven is waiting for me.
Not that things are terrible, you know. We're healthy and secure and well provided for. We laugh and enjoy each other and our many family and friends. We walk out of our house and gaze at the mountains, valleys, trees, and sky in all their splendor. As a rule, life is good.
There are days that aren't so good. When things just aren't what they should be. When we ache.
Strained relationships. Lost loved ones.
A sin that you have once again succumbed to. Harsh words spoken.
Sickness and disease. Helplessness. Need.
Anger and frustration over unmet expectations. Failure.
They're universal, these parts of life that just flat stink. Not only do we deal with them in our own lives, but then we flip on the news. And all you can do is shake your head.
It's not a surprise. Jesus Himself said in John 16:33, "In this world you will have trouble." And then Peter, in 1 Peter 4:12, "Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you." So in truth, we should not expect an easy life.
Nor should we expect things to get any better, at least on this side of the sky. We know from scripture that things on earth are going to get positively horrible, and that living as a Christian will eventually be dangerous. With the foundations of America crumbling beneath us, that time may not be too far off. How I fear what the boys will see in their lifetimes.
But there is hope. And there is purpose. In every pain, every tear, every loss. God is working in us. To make us more like Him, yes. But also to remind us that this place is not our home.
What if my greatest disappointments
or the aching of this life
is the revealing of a greater thirst
this world can't satisfy?
More than anything, our difficult days point to a God who loves us, who is deeply and lovingly involved in every moment of our lives, and who longs for us to long for Him.
Yes, this life is full of blessings beyond measure, given from the hand of our abundantly gracious God. These, too, are glimpses of what is to come. When we finally go home.
"Look, I am coming soon!
My reward is with Me."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Not that things are terrible, you know. We're healthy and secure and well provided for. We laugh and enjoy each other and our many family and friends. We walk out of our house and gaze at the mountains, valleys, trees, and sky in all their splendor. As a rule, life is good.
There are days that aren't so good. When things just aren't what they should be. When we ache.
Strained relationships. Lost loved ones.
A sin that you have once again succumbed to. Harsh words spoken.
Sickness and disease. Helplessness. Need.
Anger and frustration over unmet expectations. Failure.
They're universal, these parts of life that just flat stink. Not only do we deal with them in our own lives, but then we flip on the news. And all you can do is shake your head.
It's not a surprise. Jesus Himself said in John 16:33, "In this world you will have trouble." And then Peter, in 1 Peter 4:12, "Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you." So in truth, we should not expect an easy life.
Nor should we expect things to get any better, at least on this side of the sky. We know from scripture that things on earth are going to get positively horrible, and that living as a Christian will eventually be dangerous. With the foundations of America crumbling beneath us, that time may not be too far off. How I fear what the boys will see in their lifetimes.
But there is hope. And there is purpose. In every pain, every tear, every loss. God is working in us. To make us more like Him, yes. But also to remind us that this place is not our home.
or the aching of this life
is the revealing of a greater thirst
this world can't satisfy?
More than anything, our difficult days point to a God who loves us, who is deeply and lovingly involved in every moment of our lives, and who longs for us to long for Him.
Yes, this life is full of blessings beyond measure, given from the hand of our abundantly gracious God. These, too, are glimpses of what is to come. When we finally go home.
My reward is with Me."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
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