A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

"These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland."
[Hebrews 11:13-14, ESV]

So, the service at Connexion last night got me thinking about my "homeland," and about the truth of the (over-used) phrase, "home is where the heart is." I'll admit to having a strong desire for a home of my own - and when I say home, I don't necessarily mean a specific house or specific neighborhood (although I'd be lying if I said I didn't have an ideal house in mind) ...I mean someplace where I can really take root and have peace - a stronghold, as it were. However, when speaking to Pilate, "Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world'"[John 18:36]. So here's the question - where do I draw the line between a healthy desire to have a family and an earthly home - and remembering that my true home is in the Kingdom of God?

Perhaps this is amplified to me, as I have been listening to Zero 7's song "Home" - the chorus of which is:

"Take me somewhere we can be alone
Make me somewhere I can call a home
'Cause lately I've been losing my own"

So this brings me to a new realization - that home is not about the edifice, that's simply a house. Home is about peace, family and support. I had a childhood home, but when my parents moved a few years ago, they didn't leave home behind. Although I've never lived where they are now, it's still the family home - because it's where my family comes together. It's what is inside that makes the house a home. When I say I want a home, what I'm saying is I want a family - I want to create a safe and peaceful space to share with those I love.

Now introduce what Dan refers to as the "eternal perspective." I'm supposed to be not only able, but willing and eager to leave the things of this world behind and cleave to my Heavenly home. When Sojourner Truth spoke about dying, she said, "I am not going to die...I'm going home like a shooting star." I actually love that quote....and in theory, I completely agree. In fact, I'm not afraid of death, because I have complete and proven faith in my God - I know that He's never going to let me go. That said, I still struggle with holding onto the things of this world - and it seems the most ridiculous thing to be worried about losing something earthly by going to heaven. Who would be sorry to leave the gutter to move into a mansion? How much better will the Kingdom of Heaven be than this fragile and broken world? I feel like such a fool for even pausing to consider the cost of my heavenly citizenship. I mean, the descriptions of heaven are so far beyond what I can even imagine:

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 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." [Rev 21:1-4, ESV]

"The foundation [stones] of the wall of the city were ornamented with all of the precious stones. The first foundation [stone] was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony (or white agate), the fourth emerald, The fifth onyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each separate gate being built of one solid pearl. And the main street (the broadway) of the city was of gold as pure and translucent as glass. I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Omnipotent [Himself] and the Lamb [Himself] are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon to give light to it, for the splendor and radiance (glory) of God illuminate it, and the Lamb is its lamp." [Rev 21:19-23, Amplified]


Ok, so we understand that Heaven is more than our earthly minds can even comprehend, however, my silly heart still carnally tries to cling to the joys of this world, even though they are fleeting and fragile. I have the hardest time not feeling like Samwise at the end of Return of the King, when the sea calls Frodo and Gandalf home {"I Aear cân ven na mar"}. I can certainly find comfort in Gandalf's words, "Death is just another path... One that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass... And then you see it. White shores... and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise."

I know that I will see those white shores. I know that I will spend eternity in Heaven. What I need to grasp and fully take hold of is that Heaven has been, is and always will be my home. I need to know in my heart, not just my mind, that God will only ever love me - and that I will never need to worry about my own path. This is of course all coming to a crescendo here as I debate about what steps I should take next (esp. professionally... more education? New job?) I've finally realized that when I say I want a home, I want peace - and a place to feel safe. The ironic thing is, I already have that whether I realize it or not. The Savior of the universe lives inside of me. My future is certain. I'm loved, not only by God, but by the people He has sewn into my life. All I need for peace I already have. However, to actually live in the peace I seek - to be at home in my own life, regardless of where it takes me? I've found that they key here is trust. Trust that the love Our Lord has for us is eternal and unconquerable - and that His love is not dependent upon our performance. (The performance aspect here is worth an entirely new blog - don't even get me started on that.) Is there even the smallest cause to stop and think? We know that "for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose," [Romans 8:28, ESV]. I haven't even begun to see the breadth of God's love for me. Fewer passages give me more comfort than Romans 8:38-39, "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Heaven is our inheritance, and we "have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering...Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken" [Hebrews 12: 22,28, ESV]. However, the Earth is our temporary home - and we do have a purpose here. God wants us to enjoy ourselves in this life, but with the things that please and bring honor to Him. While "the thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. [He] came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)" [John 10:10, Amplified]. How's that for a reason to praise Him?

I'll leave you with a passage from 1 Thessalonians...

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel, and with the blast of the trumpet of God. And those who have departed this life in Christ will rise first. Then we, the living ones who remain [on the earth], shall simultaneously be caught up along with [the resurrected dead] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so always (through the eternity of the eternities) we shall be with the Lord! Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words."
[1 Thess. 4:16-18, Amplified]