Recently I was texting with a friend and she asked me if I had plans to return home.  I thought this was so interesting because she lives in Florida and I moved back to Texas last year after living in Florida for thirteen years.  She was referring to Florida as being my home.

I was born in Maryland, and my family moved to Texas about a month after I turned seven. I live in and grew up in Texas.  This really made me think about what makes somewhere home.  What is one’s definition of home? We hear the saying “home is where the heart is” or we think of Dorothy clicking her heels in her ruby slipper saying, “there’s no place like home.”  Perhaps you think of Stephanie Mills singing “Home” in the The Wiz.

As humans, we may live on earth for 70+ years.  Being here all of those years, it seems natural to call earth our home.  We live, work, and play here.  We meet the people we love here.  We fulfill our dreams here.  But as Christians, we are reminded multiple times in God’s Word that this actually isn’t our home. 1 John 2:15-17 states, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

I’m just gonna keep it real; there are some things on this earth that I love.  I love my family and friends.  I love a perfect cup of coffee and an amazing afternoon nap (It makes no sense to me at all that I would love both of these things because they don’t go together at all in my opinion.). I love jewelry. I love Tex-Mex, sushi, barbecue, and a host of other foods.  But one day all, of this is going to pass away.  Then what?

In John 18:36 Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”  A few weeks ago, I heard someone say that life on earth is preparation for eternity.  I don’t know if you realize this or not, but eternity is a lot longer than 70 or 100 years.  I’m not even sure our human brains can comprehend eternity.  Let’s just say that this life is really just the tip of the ice burg.

I’m not writing about this to scare or make anyone nervous.  I just want to challenge us to think about our priorities and beyond the here and now.  There’s a saying that states, “you can never go back home.” Apparently I’ve proved that wrong because I’m typing this in the same bedroom I did my homework in when I was in high school.  Put me to the side for a minute though so you can focus on the fact that Jesus left heaven, came to earth as a baby, and is now living in heaven preparing a place for us.  And just in case you’re wondering, that place is not going to pass away.