We all long to belong, wanting to be known that lives inside each of us. We want the familiar state of being in a place where we feel safe, loved, and adored. For many, our memories are thrown back to the home we grew up in. Scents of homemade cooking. Holiday celebrations. Laughter and giggles fill the room.
The Desire to Belong
We long for THIS to stay with us all of the time.
And yet, this feeling eludes us.
Because we are not home yet.
In our text today found in 2 Corinthians 5:1-9, Paul encourages us not to fixate our eyes on the things of this world. Rather, remind ourselves that this place is not our home. Our temporal bodies where we reside are like a flimsy tent. Here today. Gone tomorrow. However, too often, we care too much about the here and now.
Our Eternal Hope
We focus on our flimsy tent, rather than our eternal dwelling. Fixate on skinny bodies, and how to look 10 (or more) years younger. Slather on our wrinkle cream and hope the bags under our eyes will dissipate. And we long. We wish. Oh, how we desire to look and feel much better.
When we’re having a bad day and this world seems to engulf us, we must remind ourselves…we just ain’t home yet. When thinking of home, it’s much more than just a structure. For me, what’s most important is the people that abide within it. Now that I have two kids in college, I find myself longing for them to be home. The nest feels half-empty every time that they go. Paul describes heaven not merely as a place. He describes heaven as being with the Lord…you see, it’s about the relationship.
This is Not Our Home
Many of us feel at odds when we consider “What will happen when I die?” We don’t think longingly about heaven because we’re not intimate with Jesus right now. Instead of our future home bringing us comfort, it seems like a far-off land. We prefer to find our comfort in the things we can see with our own two eyes.
God has given us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that we will go to heaven. If you don’t have this assurance, will you please send me a comment. We can be sure of where we’re going. “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).
When you think of the word home, does Jesus come to mind? Because really…when you get right to the point…he is the ultimate security blanket we can find. He is the reason we long to belong.