"The longing for home is so universal that there is even a special word for it, which is of course homesickness,” writes Frederick Buechner. How true! I’ve left on countless journeys through the years, some with anticipation, others with weariness. Always, however, the turn toward home was anticipated, longed for, welcomed.
The ache for home lives in all of us, even when we do not consciously recognize it. God made us to crave a place where we know we are safe, at peace, and loved. And as surely as he created food to quench hunger, he’s created a place that can satisfy our ache.
Some of us have known that kind of place. It’s easy for me to let my mind drift back to the sweet fragrance of newly mown fields and my mother’s voice calling my brother and I to dinner. Home! Others do not have those pleasant memories. Their home was a place of indifference, anger, chaos, or even abuse. But the longing for a true home is there, perhaps even more poignantly.
In Christ, we have a true home. “And so we will be with the Lord forever,” Paul writes, and adds, “Encourage one another with these words.” It’s a homecoming from which there is no more parting. It’s where our persistent ache for home is finally and fully satisfied.
It may be a long journey, and at times a difficult one, but we are headed for home. Be encouraged!
Lord, encourage me today to travel through life well, always working, praying, and encouraging until that day at journey’s end when I am finally home. Amen.
Go Deeper — In your mind, form a picture of what a perfect home would be like. Now rejoice that Heaven is so much more wonderful than that.
Photo Credit: Melanie Brown