by David Burka
Sometimes when I drive to church, especially on dark evenings, I see my neighbors all snug in their homes. They sit contentedly around the fire or TV, waiting, all worm and cozy, until it�s time for bed. As I walk across a cold parking lot and exchange warm greetings with my brothers and sisters, I realize that my �home� is not in this world.
I like the song �This world is not my home, I�m just a-passin� through. My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue.� Sometimes it�s tempting to think of my house as my home, and to wonder how it is to sit by a fire while others go to the church building. But the big picture is that Jesus opens the door to my real Father�s house. When we get there, we won�t have to be cold, lonely, tired, hungry, or sick. He is going to take care of us FOREVER.
The rewards of our eternal home will far surpass any beautiful home on this earth. Although we can only imagine, and it is far beyond what we can humanly imagine, we get a little taste of heaven on cold, winter nights when we gather with our Christian family around the hearth of His love to sing, pray, and learn more about Him.
As sojourners in this world, we are similar to the people of Israel who were told of a Promised Land. Those who believed and followed God�s plan, eventually got there. Peter tells us that God, through the resurrection of Jesus, has caused us �to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable...reserved in Heaven.� ( 1 Peter 1:3-5) He goes on to say, �In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials��
It won�t always be easy to live in this environment, to be �aliens� here. The final rewards for a faithful life given entirely to Him will be worth it all. When I stop and think about it, I�m really glad that �I can�t feel at home in this world any more!� And, hopefully, I�ll be able to take some of those neighbors along to our real �Home of the Soul�.