HOME
Periodically I get focused on words. My word right now is the word “home.” Just for kicks I typed “home” into Dictionary.com’s search engine, and it came up with 26 definitions. Twenty-six! I think about how I use it on a daily basis. For me, home refers to: - New York, where I grew up and my parents live - Ukraine, where my apartment and many of my friends are - Florida, where I’m living now - whatever building I’m sleeping in on a given night
I talk about going home to visit my parents, going home to eat, going home to Ukraine, going home to sleep, and going home in several other senses that might refer to any one of many of the places I’ve called home since leaving my parents’ house. There is one other major way, though, that I use the word, and this definition has an air of finality about it. Sometimes “home” means Heaven. What a glorious home! Sometimes with all the traveling I do I laugh to myself about having so many homes and yet being homeless all at the same time. But in truth, I’m not homeless, not by a long shot. I just haven’t arrived home yet. Hebrews 11 talks about faith, and verses 13-16 are particularly beautiful to me.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
Good news – we’re not homeless! We have an eternal home in Heaven, a place prepared for us by God. This is an often needed reminder for me to set my eyes on things above and not get distracted by whatever’s going on at the moment, a reminder to remember that there’s a big picture. It’s been an encouraging thought to me that I’ve been reminded of recently. I hope it’s encouraging to you, too.
