HOME SWEET HOME
Philippians 1:21-24
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; 24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
I've always loved to travel. It's a good thing that I enjoy it, I do an awful lot of it. Making new friends, seeing new places, experiencing new things and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ is what makes travel enjoyable for me.
Several years ago my wife gave me a Christmas gift of an airline ticket to Alabama where I flew to hunt deer. While I love to hunt deer, the highlight of the trip was the wonderful friendships I made. I expected to get to know Bo and Tricia, which I did and fell in love with that family.... But the other handful of friends that I met made the trip worthwhile as well.
Now, at this time Linda and I are traveling more than staying home. We are blessed to continue to share Jesus with others and making countless friends as we go back and forth across the USA.
What I've noticed about my travel is, as much as I love the travel, I love heading home as much or even more. When it's time to head towards home, my heart just aches to get there. This is especially true when my family is not with me.
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul wrote that he was torn between wanting to stay and going home. He was talking about his eternal home. I think as we get older, we long more and more to be home with our Lord. What an awesome assurance we have to be with Him someday. We become hand pressed to choose which we want more... to remain here in this life or to pass on, into our eternal glory in heaven.
God has built a homing instinct into each of us.... We were made with a desire to be in heaven one day. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, "He has planted eternity in the human heart.". God has even built a desire to be "home" into the wildlife that He created.... In San Juan Capistrano, year after year, the swallows return to their nests. I saw it on Kodiak Island Alaska as well, where millions upon millions of salmon return to where they were born.
If you don't now have a desire to be home with the Lord, please consider your relationship with Him. He has established a homing desire in all His children. As much as I long to be in heaven one day, God desires even more to have me there.
Are you longing to be home? God is waiting to meet you face to face. Are you ready? Until we go, we have just one job to do.... To tell others about Jesus and the gift He has to offer.... Do it well and your homecoming in heaven will even be sweeter.
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