Home Sweet Home: Our Heavenly Home

The word home conjures up varied feelings and emotions for all of us. A home is a place where one resides permanently. A familiar place where in the ensuing of a long day, or time away, we always long to be. A place we can call,  “home sweet home.”

Truly there is no place like home, whether it be a large estate or a humble dwelling. A home is a place where we feel all-around safe. Add to that the privilege of privacy in our homes, and a sense of comfort and ease. At the same time our homes impart to us the essentials for rest and refreshment.

Tragically, today, in the aftermath of wildfires and hurricanes these past 2-3 years, many have lost their homes and their livelihoods. Families and individuals are living in hotels, evacuation centers, in cars, or tents.

Needless to say, the greater tragedy is the loss of life that has occurred from these disasters. But that will not be my focus in this post.

Now most of us in this great nation of ours were raised to believe in the American dream.

Simply put the American dream is trying to secure a good life by getting an education, then hard work mixed with ambition and determination. Add to that being economical and purchasing a property or a home.

Like many a big part of the American dream for us “middle classers” is owning a home. Owning a home for the average person or family is the culmination of achieving the American dream.

Meanwhile, it goes without saying, that the loss of a home one has worked hard for (or maybe a life time for) is quite an upheaval in an individual’s life. Picking up the pieces may be impossible for many and for a variety of reasons. Eventually lives move forward, but they are forever changed.

Indeed this kind of tragedy can become an ever present reality for those living in vulnerable areas. It just so happens that this type of ruin seems to be escalating and occurring with greater severity.

Meanwhile, many Christians have been affected by these disasters. Yet, they possess something greater, something eternal, a hope for the future. Sadly, on the other hand, so many do not have this hope.

Therefore, what can we glean from these tragedies, or what insights can we gain? Maybe our motto should be; hold on loosely to this world and your possessions (Matthew 6:19-20). In a moment of time all that we have can be stripped away.

“For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come” (Hebrews 13:14).

It is essential in a time of crisis to have a divine perspective. In many ways this world is a foreign place. We are nomads as we make our pilgrimage toward our heavenly home. All true believers desire this heavenly inheritance.

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:1-2).

God knows that our hearts can be troubled by all the craziness in the world. Jesus promised a place in heaven for those who have come to Him in faith. And besides this our home in heaven is a lasting one.

So when we finally reach our heavenly destination there will be no fear of wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis etc. So not to worry.  We also know that accommodations are in the making for every child of God.

“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:16). Our heavenly “home sweet home.”

Hebrews 11, sometimes called the “Hall of Faith,” records for us the ways our Biblical Patriarchs lived by faith. They set examples to motivate and encourage us.

Abraham looked for, lived for, and longed for a better country. In the same way as our father Abraham, we need to set our sights on heaven.

The lives of the patriarchs, as illustrated in Hebrews 11, displayed the motivations of their hearts. Furthermore, they knew they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth (Hebrews 11:13b). To sum up, their heart’s desire was their final destination in heaven.

In comparison, today, we need to live our lives looking to our final destination, our “home sweet home” in heaven. So by faith we too can endure and walk with God as Hebrews 11 so clearly demonstrates.

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

Meanwhile, as we reside on earth, where is our home? Galatians 2:20 says Christ lives in me, that is His Spirit. This means a permanent, eternal stay! Mind you this indwelling can only happen if one is born again.

So in the interim, as we occupy this earth, home is wherever we dwell because God is with us. He resides within our hearts. Furthermore,  let’s strive to be content believing whatever we have will be enough for us (Philippians 4:11).

“Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven. Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain” (Hebrews 12: 26b-27).

A whole lot of shaking is going to take place during the period of “The Great Tribulation” upon the earth. Clearly, we appear to be very close. What will remain that cannot be shaken before the return of Christ is our faith.

Likewise, when we as believers experience the removal of “things that are made (homes, possessions),” what will remain is our faith and a kingdom that lives within our hearts.

Perhaps we should stop clinging to things that can be shaken. Our “home sweet home,” is no where to be found this side of eternity.

There’s no place like our heavenly “home sweet home.”