This World Is Not My Home

This world is broken. Very few will argue that it is not. There's war, drug addiction, hunger, divorce, unhappiness, death, pain, cancer, and so much more. I would not want my life in this world to be it. Sure, there's a lot of wonderful things in life but I still wouldn't want this life to be my entire existence. And I don't believe it is. I believe in heaven. In the Bible, it says that all who believe in Jesus Christ will go there and there we will meet the one who created us and loves us. In Philippians 3:20 it says our citizenship is in heaven. This means that heaven is our final destination, our true home. Billy Graham once said it this way: "My home is heaven. I'm just traveling through this world".

I recently saw the first trailer of the movie "Paper Towns". It's based on a novel by John Green. I read it a few months ago and I am so excited for the movie this summer. I have seen the trailer at least four times and I have watched all other "Paper Towns" content along with it too. Similarly, our time on Earth is just the trailer of a movie we are anxiously awaiting (the one difference is that the movie will never disappoint).

Our time on Earth is like the monorail ride to a line-free Disney World. Or the dinner salad before a 5 course meal. Or the car ride to an endless Tenth Avenue North concert. In short, our time on Earth is just the beginning of our eternities. And when you are a follower of Jesus it only gets better from there.

Doubtful heaven can be that wonderful? I was too for a long time. But in the Bible heaven is described as a wonderful, wonderful place, In the gospel of Luke it talks about heaven. When Jesus is on the cross, one of the criminal tells Jesus to remember him and Jesus responds "today you will be with me in paradise". Heaven is paradise. In fact, Psalm 84:10 proclaims "for a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside". Imagine that. Picture the greatest day of your life. Even that cannot begin to compare to how incredible heaven will be. Revelation 21:4 says in heaven "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away”. Later in Revelation heaven is described like this: "And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass. And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there."

Heaven is going to be incredible. But it hasn't always been an option for sinners like us. Jesus paid the price for our sins so we could spend our eternities with God. That's what we celebrate during the Easter season - the price Jesus paid and the gift we received because of it. Heaven is an incredible gift. In fact, it is our true home.


Extra
"Where I Belong" by Switchfoot

"Where I Belong"

Feeling like a refugee

Like it don't belong to me

The colors flash across the sky

This air feels strange to me

Feeling like a tragedy

I take a deep breath and close my eyes

One last time

One last time

Storms on the wasteland

Dark clouds on the plains again

We were born into the fight

But I'm not sentimental

This skin and bones is a rental

And no one makes it out alive

Until I die I'll sing these songs

On the shores of Babylon

Still looking for a home

In a world where I belong

Where the weak are finally strong

Where the righteous right the wrongs

Still looking for a home

In a world where I belong

Feels like we're just waiting, waiting

While our hearts are just breaking, breaking

Feels like we've been fighting against the tide

I wanna see the earth start shaking

I wanna see a generation

Finally waking up inside

Until I die I'll sing these songs

On the shores of Babylon

Still looking for a home

In a world where I belong

Where the weak are finally strong

Where the righteous right the wrongs

Still looking for a home

In a world where I belong

This body's not my own

This world is not my own

But I still can hear the sound

Of my heart beating out

So let's go boys, play it loud

On the final day I die

I want to hold my head up high

I want to tell You that I tried

To live it like a song

And when I reach the other side

I want to look You in the eye

And know that I've arrived

In a world where I belong

In a world where I belong

In a world where I belong

Where I belong

Where I belong

Where I belong

Where I belong

I still believe we can live forever

You and I we begin forever now

Forever now

Forever

I still believe in us together

You and I we're here together now

Together now

Forever now

Forever now

Forever now

Forever

Forever