Not My Home

I recently spent a week in Orange County in the sunshine and 75 degree temperatures. Many will probably disagree with me on this point, but in my estimation, it’s about as close to paradise that we can get here in the United States. It’s not too hot or too cold. It doesn’t rain too much, it never snows and the flowers are in bloom all year long. I do love western Washington, but this is poles apart from what we’re experiencing this time of year with 36 degree average temperatures and combinations of rain, fog and densely clouded skies.

So after leaving the cold rain and snow for the warmth and sunshine, I was not too excited about returning to Washington. When my husband asked me after my fifth day of vacation if I was ready to come home, I replied saying that I can’t wait to return to sleeping in my own bed with my husband, showering in my own bathroom and eating from my own refrigerator, but no matter how much I may miss the comforts of home, there were things about Southern California that I just didn’t want to leave behind. In fact, if circumstances had allowed, I’d have stayed another week.

As I thought more about this, I realized that this is how many Christians feel about going “home” to heaven. There is a deep seeded desire within us to be reunited with God in Heaven, but there is much about this world that we don’t want to leave behind.

I have to contrast this with something that happened to me a couple weeks ago. I left early in the evening to do some shopping and while I was out, we had a short windstorm. When I returned home, or tried to return home I should say, the road to my house was blocked from both entry points. The wind had broken the top off of a telephone pole and left live electrical wires hanging dangerously over the roadway. I was tired and hungry and my family was already at home, so when the man at the roadblock told me that I could not pass, I was beyond frustrated. At that point I would have done just about anything to get home. For the three hours that followed, my son and I had dinner and then picked up a few essentials from the local discount store, but all the while my mind was set on home. No activity was able to distract me from where I really wanted to be.

That night, I realized for the first time, the depth of Paul’s longing when he said, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven. Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT)

It occurred to me that we go through our day-to-day lives with our goals set on placing a check mark in each box on our to-do list when we should be accomplishing our daily tasks with our goals set on Heaven.

In Philippians 3:17-21, Paul goes on to say, Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. Their future is eternal destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and all they think about is this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. (NLT)

We’ve all heard the saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” What Paul is saying here is that our actions are truer evidence of what we are than our professions. We can confess faith in Christ, but our walks still communicate more effectively than our words. So with this in mind, we should ask ourselves every day: Does my conduct show that I am an enemy of Christ? Am I thinking only about life on this earth? We must realize and embrace that we are citizens of heaven and it is there that our hearts find their home if they are surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t let any activities distract your mind from where your heart truly longs to be.