made for another Home…
March 31, 2018
“If given the opportunity, and I could reach him and pull him back down with us, I would use All I have and push him into eternity with the God who created him for life!”-Friend
What a beautiful depiction of our longing for eternity…This is not our home.
Simply put, that is love.
March 31, 2019
Our friends, like several Other friends I know have had to say goodbye to parents this year. We were sitting on the floor, listening as they shared memories along with their sadness concerning his departure from earth.
Within the listening, she spoke those beautiful words that exemplified the life we are called to live.
“When God issues a call to us, it is always a holy call. The vocation of dying is a sacred vocation. To understand that is one of the most important lessons a Christian can ever learn. When the summons comes, we can respond in many ways. We can become angry, bitter or terrified. But if we see it as a call from God and not a threat from Satan, we are far more prepared to cope with its difficulties.” ~RC Sproul
Her words stung my heart because I was so far from the thought of being able to say I could do the same. If given the opportunity and my son were in reach, if I could pull my son back into my arms, I would. I have envisioned this so often; would I ever reach the point where I would give Tyler the gentle nudge and say, “you were made for another home”?
Those of us who have had to remain living, following the death of a cherished one, might would tell you that we now feel “out of place.”
Our son’s death has brought to life the tremendous longing for our permanent dwelling. Eternal perspective reshapes temporary circumstances. Eternal longing redefines the significant aspects of daily living. Eternal security renews my love for Jesus every-single-day.
I’ve learned on my short time on earth that we are all homesick. It doesn’t matter what faith you practice, how much you have accumulated, how distinguished you might be, or how comfortable you are. Within every human heart there is a built-in navigation system with the “HOME”destination already typed in and the navigator just waiting for us to press “GO.”
We were all made for something better! Death made me realize how broken this world really is. Death made me realize how the ache in my heart sets my mind on the things above.
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:2
Death made me realize that the seasons of life and dances along the way are often hard, but I’ve learned that is exactly what it takes to become singularly focused on the Everlasting.
“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.” ~C.S. Lewis
“Ineffective.” It should haunt ever human soul. Of all the concepts, of all the revelations, of all the the time spent drawing near to God over the last 2 years…this one penetrates to the core of who I am created to be. I am a foreigner to this world because I was created to thrive in another land, yet my path has been determined and my short stay here has only made the tethering to Home stronger and more certain than ever before.
“But we are citizens of heaven, and it is from there that we expect a Deliverer, the Lord Jesus. He will change the bodies we have in this humble state and make them like his glorious body, using the power which enables him to bring everything under his control.”
Philippians 3:20-21