Can you think of a time when you felt really Homesick?
What happened that made you feel so homesick?
What were you homesick for?
If you could have transported yourself home, in that moment, what would you have felt?
When our family lived in Togo, I found I was very homesick. Life was so very different from the life I was used to in the US. I felt the losses and it hurt. My pain made me acutely aware of what I loved about home. So, I did my best to relieve my pain and experience the comforts of home, in a foreign land. I made tomato soup, even thought it was i the 90's. The smell and taste were a comfort to me. I played recordings of old football games. The sounds were a comfort. I brought warm lamplight, pillows and rugs into our living room. The softness was a comfort. I did my best to bring beauty into our home.
Those decisions and intentional changes were good for me. The effects of feeling “home” again brought a level of relief and comfort that nothing else could have. And from that place of relief, I was able to divert more strength and creativity to caring for my family and thriving in a place that was not and never would be ‘home’.
It is hard to be away from home. And, friends, we are not home.
EDEN
Eden was our home. When humanity was there, though it was just Adam and Eve, all was well. Their bodies, souls and spirits were perfectly aligned and whole. They walked with God, and had perfect fellowship with God and one-another. They saw with clear eyes, understood with a clear mind, heard with fully open ears, conversed with pure unbridled words, ran and jumped with joy and worked happily. They were fully alive. All they knew was the wholeness and abundance of being at home with God. And God was delighted and glorified by it.
FORGOTTEN
Now, we’re so far removed from “home” that we’ve FORGOTTEN what it’s like and what it feels like. But, we know, deep in our souls, and our bodies know, that this is not home. We feel the pain of living in a foreign land. Our bodies feel the effects of it. Our souls feel the longing and they know, this just isn’t how life was meant to be. But, we’re so far removed that we can’t even identify what it is supposed to be. It’s little more than an inkling, but it’s there.
IN THE STRUGGLE
It gnaws at us every time we struggle in a relationship. Every time we feel physical pain or experience weakness or limited capacity. Every time we struggle to understand something or learn something new, then forget it and have to relearn it. Every time we are paralyzed with fear, knowing there is something more that we were born to do, but can’t seem to get our body in motion and our head in gear. Every time we know there’s a work that we were uniquely created for but, we feel handcuffed and stuck.
IN THE BEAUTY
We also feel it when we get glimpses and tastes of Heaven. When a flower blooms. When a wave crashes on the shore. When a baby it born. When a choir sings harmony and an orchestra different instruments blend into one glorious sound. When the stars twinkle and trees wave. These are remnant of they ways life was created to be. We wish they could last forever. We don't want the feeling to end. In heaven, it never ends. These prove to us that our desire for more isn't a crazy whim. It's a desire for something real; something we were made for.
We know there’s more, but what is it? We’re homesick. But for what?
HEAVEN IN JESUS
When Jesus came, the fullness of Heaven was in Him. Everything about Heaven was clear to Him. He knew what we needed to understand and do in order to begin to enjoy and benefit from the comforts of Home again, even while remaining here on earth. His teaching was filled with information about home. His life and miracles were filled with demonstrations about what we can do to bring Home to Earth and how much healing, relief, comfort and abundance can be experienced in this foreign land.
Jesus came teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven saying,
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like…”
He was saying, this is what it’s like back home, how life was made to work. It’s what you were made for and it’s where you’re headed! Then He showed us how enjoy it and share it here on earth.
“Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven”.
In our thoughts as it is in heaven.
In our bodies as it is in heaven.
In our… families. Our coming & going. Our homes. Our resting & working. Our playing, giving & receiving. In serving & being served.
ALL… as it is in heaven.
It takes FAITH to believe that the ways of Heaven will work here! We are so far removed from the Garden of Eden, that the realities and ways of the Kingdom of Heaven seem extremely foreign us.
LIAR! - Be on guard!
And we have an enemy. He understands the ways of Heaven and can recognize it’s citizens. He used to live there and He got kicked out! He is a liar who doesn’t want us to believe that the ways of Heaven can work here on earth. He whispers lies that convince us that if we were to follow the ways of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, we would be taken advantage of or lose out on something good. He tells us that the relief, comfort and good life we want so badly would be forfeited if we do things like they’re done at home in heaven while we are on earth. He’s wrong and Jesus proved it!
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
“The infiltration of the ways and realities of the Kingdom of Heaven (home) on earth is a ‘grass-roots’ movement. It begins in us, restoring us and making us whole so that we can live it and share it.”
Jesus did seven miracles to restore people’s broken bodies to wholeness. He was teaching us about Heaven in the process. This is what it’s like in heaven! God’s plan to redeem and restore humanity begins now, here on earth, not just when we are finally home. It’s a restoration that He made complete in our spirit’s the moment we were born again. And it’s a process He wants to continue in our bodies, hearts, minds, relationships and lives. He wants to restore us and set us free to live the abundant life Jesus died to give us! By this we will learn to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength. That is why He taught us to pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!”
Are you ready to learn about home? Are you eager to enjoy some of the comforts and joys of Heaven on earth? Are you ready to learn the truth about home and begin to live freely on earth as you will be in Heaven? Are you ready to spread this good news to a world who’s desperately homesick for the presence and company of our Heavenly Father and His Kingdom, our home? Look to Jesus. The answers are there, in Him.