Between You And God #7

Dear God, Do people really want to go to heaven? I kind of like it here.

At different times in all of our lives we have to leave home. Sometimes it’s for something fun—a vacation or a visit with relatives. Sometimes we have to move. These new places are all enjoyable, but they never really feel like home. We grow up and go to college or to work, and some of us get married. And yet it’s always fun to go back home again where we feel safe and taken care of.

God says the world that we live in is not really our true home—we’re only here for a short stay as visitors. It’s like starting in New York City on a really long road trip that stops at great places along the way—seeing Mickey at Disney World, climbing the Rocky Mountains, star-spotting on Hollywood Boulevard. But you don’t live in any of those places. You stay in a hotel for a few days or weeks and then take off again. Once the road trip is over you finally make it back home, sinking into your own bed with your own pillow and blankets and eating your mom’s best meals.

Most Christians who are dying understand they will leave behind people and good times from the “road trip” here. But Jesus promises that for all who believe in him, he has made a better place, the only place we’ll ever feel really at home. Jesus tells us that he wants us to have a wonderful life here on earth. But we can be reassured that once we get to heaven, we will feel that perfect joy that only comes from being home.

No matter how long or short the trip, God’s made a perfect map, with the best route to lead us back home.

How about You?

Are you afraid to die? Why or why not? What great things can you look forward to experiencing in heaven, your true home?

God Says . . .

They were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. Hebrews 11:16