But Jesus said unto him, the foxes have holes, and the birds of the heavens have nests, but the Son of man hath not whereon to rest his head. ~Matt. 8:20
Our home is not with Jesus, our home is Jesus. When we accept Christ into our lives, he becomes a part of us. Indeed, the ultimate goal of a Christian is to glorify God, which we do through being as Christlike as we can. So, If the Son of man hath not whereon to rest his head, where do we rest our heads? We are only travelers here.
This world is not our home. We must give our lives to Jesus, we are not our own. ~John Elefante
What I hear people say is, on earth, there are all of the aches and all of the pains that come with being an Animal. A mere mortal creature. God destined us for something greater, creating us Imago Dei (Image of God.)
In Heaven, there are no more aches or pains or tears.
So? Is that why you want to go to heaven? I fall into this thinking all the time, especially when life is hard. I wake up some mornings and I just say, "Oh God, please take me home today. I'm tired of being here."
But that is not It.
I don't want to go to heaven to avoid all of the pains and worries that come with an animal life. I want to go to heaven to be with my Lord, My Lover, My Savior.
On earth, the devil will kick sand in your face when you're already down.
But In Heaven, you are out of what Lewis called the shadowlands. You are done seeing through a glass darkly. I know that when I die, I will be face to face with God. I will not be able to handle it, unable to bear my shame. Every single lie i've ever told, every single time i've ever been angry, every single time i've ever had impure thoughts, every single time I have ever sinned, the record will be laid bare! Absolutely bare! The veil between myself and THE God Almighty, the Lord of the Heavens and Earth will be TORN IN TWO! I will fall to my knees, tears streaming down my face, shaking and pleading, "Oh My God, oh Mighty Lord, cast me not into the pit, cast me not away from your presence! I am yours Jesus, save me!"
Then In Heaven, Christ will come to my trembling and prostrate form, and he will pick me up and say to me, "Did I not say, 'all who call upon me shall have eternal life?' Come into the presence of God. Now is the time to worship, do you hear? NOW is the time to worship. Come unto your King, fully lean on the Lord your God completely. You. Are. Home."
Then In Heaven, I will spend all eternity worshipping the one true God. Complete unity with God, for all eternity-When we get to sing with the Angels, "Holy! Holy! Holy are You! Lord God Almighty!"
I cannot wait. I just cannot wait to be in the presence of God completely, with no cares, just to be forever in bond with Him in worship to Him. And then I find this verse:
Let your heart not be troubled: Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places: If it were not so, I would have told you: I go to prepare a place for you. And If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that Where I am, there may ye be also. ~Luke 14: 1-3
God will take me when I'm ready. My fruits have to be ripe. In Luke 14, God doesn't tell us why he doesn't take us home right away. He tells us he will come back for us, that we may forever be where he Is.
That is It. That's what it's all about! Everything, this entire life that we live on this earth, that's what it's about! It's about Christ! It's about forever worshipping Him in His presence!
We're born, we live, we hope to marry, have careers and a family, avoid pain and be happy. Is that it? No! Of course not! Again, I say to you that everything, everything, EVERYTHING is about worshipping Christ for all eternity.
Does it mean nothing? That homesickness, that longing in the back of your head that says, "this is not your home"?
That homesickness is Christ calling you to Himself. That's what it is, that's why we have it. I know that I can't go home to Him until He calls me once and for all, until then I must serve Him here to the best of my ability, worship to the best of my ability, and honor to the best of my ability.
I know that when I die, this is where I'm going. I know that I am going home to God.
When I die, I shall see Him.
The anticipation you get when you know you are going to see a girl that you have feelings for? (Or a guy, if you're a girl.) Those goosebumps, those chills? How much more is being with God like that?
The even greater anticipation that I imagine you get when you are going to marry the girl? What is marriage, but a representation of our eternal union with Christ?
THAT is the anticipation I have for meeting my King. The anticipation I have to hear Christ say, "Come home, Come home, Come home. Come further up, and further in. Come evermore into me, for I am yours and you are mine. Well done, good and faithful servant. Come into the holy of holies, into the presence of the one who has loved you all of your life. For now my child, and for all eternity, You. Are. Home."
Soli Deo Gloria
