Homesick for Heaven?

By faith he [Abraham] dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country,

dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;

for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:9-10, NKJV).

I’ve just finished writing a novel about a homeless family, and it really has heightened my awareness of the meaning of “home,” and all that goes with it.

I’m a home-body. Oh, I love traveling to fun places, but truthfully, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than at home. I like the comfortable surroundings, the familiar setting, the feeling of belonging, don’t you? And as I researched and wrote about people who no longer have a place to call home, I wrestled with being grateful for all I have while agonizing for those who don’t share my blessing.

The great patriarch Abraham had a way of putting it all in perspective. Undoubtedly a wealthy man, living a life of relative ease before God called him to leave the familiar behind and travel to an unknown destination, Abraham obeyed and struck out for parts unknown. No longer did he have a place to call home, as he and his household became nomads, living in tents. The Scriptures say he considered his new life as dwelling “in a foreign land” while “he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Abraham knew that home wasn’t so much a place as it was a Person. Heaven, after all, is only heaven because God is there. The absence of God is what makes hell a place where no one wants to go.

Dr. Billy Graham just turned 93 and released a book called Nearing Home. Like Abraham, he knows he dwells in a foreign land, awaiting the call to “come home” to be with his Savior and Lord. “Home is where the heart is” isn’t just an old saying; it’s a deep-seated truth that tells a lot about us. Where is our heart? Is it here, in the shadow-lands, desperately trying to hold on to things we cannot keep…or is it already at home with God, just waiting for our spirit to be released to go there?

Whether we live in a mansion or a tent, or even on the street, home awaits. Can you hear the Father calling?

When a Loved One "Graduates" to Heaven

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren,

concerning those who have fallen asleep,

lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,

even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus

(1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, NKJV).

On Wednesday, August 3, just a few minutes past noon, my husband and I sat at my 90-year-old mother’s bedside and watched her slip into eternity. What mixed emotions accompanied her “graduation to heaven,” though we’d long anticipated it. We knew we were saying goodbye to her earthly body, but “until we meet again” to her spirit. It would be foolish to think that just because we know where she is and that we will see her again that we don’t feel grief or sorrow, but that sorrow is not the same as what is felt by those whose loved ones die without knowing Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

I experienced much the same thing when my dad died almost 12 years ago, though the immediate joy was perhaps a bit more intense, as he didn’t receive Jesus as Savior until the last week of his life—something we’d prayed for over many years. Mom, on the other hand, came to know Christ in a personal way at the age of 50, and God graciously gave her 40 more years to enjoy relationship with Him here on earth.

Whether we are blessed to receive Christ as children and live our entire life with our hand tucked securely in His or we mercifully come to him on our death bed, those of us who bid farewell to born-again loved ones can rejoice even as we grieve. To witness the end of my mom’s earthly suffering was to rejoice that she had at last stepped into the presence of the One who held her in His nail-scarred hands throughout her earthly journey and even as she passed through the valley of the shadow of death. One day I too will graduate to heaven and will at last see my Savior face to face—as well as all those who have gone on before me.

Indeed, we do not sorrow as those who have no hope, for Christ alone is our Hope. Thank You, Jesus!

A Win-Win Situation...

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1:21).

I said goodbye to Brian yesterday, even though I’d never had the opportunity to say hello to him. But that’s all right because Brian was a Christian and so am I, so I know I’ll have the chance to greet him one day soon.
Brian was thirty-three years old, the same age as Jesus when He died on the cross. Brian was raised in the Christian faith but, like many young people, walked away for a while. A few years ago, however, God gave Brian a “divine appointment” via a Christian hairdresser who led him back into the fold. As a result, Brian’s memorial service was the celebration of a young man whose heart belonged to the Lord and who had gone on ahead of us to be with Him—one more treasure in heaven, awaiting our arrival.
As a friend and colleague of Brian’s mother, Yvonne, I attended the service for her precious son, as did several other writer/speaker friends, to support our dear sister in her loss. And though saying a temporary goodbye to her beloved only child was undoubtedly one of the most difficult ordeals Yvonne has ever or will ever endure, she did so with such grace and faith, to the point of delivering a powerful eulogy to Brian, which she ended by lifting her hand to point heavenward as she declared the truth of Philippians 1:21: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Then she added, “Brian has gained.”
How true that is! Though we grieve the loss of loved ones, we don’t as believers grieve as those who have no hope, for we know that we will again see those who have died in the faith, even as we continue to live in it. That’s why, though I never had the privilege of meeting Brian on this earth, I know I will one day say “hello” to him in heaven, for we share the same faith, the same Father, the same Savior. And in truth, there is no other.
For just as surely as those of us who have received Jesus Christ as Savior are assured an eternal home in the presence of God the Father, those who have rejected Christ are assured eternal separation from Him—unless they repent before they breathe their last. If you are living for Christ, then you’re in a win-win situation: serving Him here, or “graduating” to heaven to be with Him forever. But if you are not serving/loving Him here, you’re in a lose-lose situation, and only humbling your heart before Him and receiving His forgiveness can ever make the difference.
Don’t wait, beloved. Brian was only thirty-three years old when God called him home. We are not promised tomorrow—only today, which the Bible says “is the day of salvation.” Make it right in your own heart/life, and then commit yourself to praying for others who need to do the same.