Our True Home

I spent two nights this past week in a hotel room on a business trip. At first it was kind of nice. Very quiet (as opposed to three young children at my house!) and I could get some reading done in peace, no interruptions. It was a decent room, not fancy, but not bad either.

But after awhile it began to seem a bit dingy and lonely. It was just not home.

I used to travel quite a bit for work before we had children. Back then I did not appreciate the quiet as I do now. I remember though the perks of eating out and having someone clean the room every day. However, I also remember that the novelty wore off fast. I would come home after being on the road and all I would want is a nice home cooked meal and my own bed to sleep in. I missed my own bed, snoring hubby and all!

I recently read something that compared our life on this earth to a hotel room. Jesus told us that we are not of this world (we are just visitors). Our true home is in Heaven with Him. The more I think about it, the more fitting this analogy seems to be.

Living on earth, this life, is nice at times. We experience our share of happiness and good times. However, it is like living in a hotel room. Nothing is actually ours, when we leave we will leave all the stuff behind in the room. Though it is quiet and restful at times, overall it is dingy and lonely. We long for our true home.

Some of us may live in a really nice hotel room right now, but even that gets old after awhile. It is never the same as being at home. Our heart, our soul inevitably becomes homesick. We long for the trip to end so we can sleep in our own bed. We long to go to our true home, Heaven, where we will find our true treasures waiting for us. Our true home where we are greeted by our loving family with open arms.

While we can make phone calls home during our trip it is just not the same as talking to our loved ones face to face and feeling their warm embrace. Although we can lift our prayers to Heaven and commune with Jesus, it is just not the same as meeting him one day face to face, feeling His embrace and having Him lead us to that true home which He has built for us.

Is this how you see your life on earth, as a temporary stop that is just a foretaste of what is yet to come? Is this how you see Heaven? As the one true place where you belong?

I know too often I forget about this. I forget that instead of focusing on this life, I should focus on Jesus and look forward to the wonderful life that is ahead of me. I need to remember that my true home, my true treasures, my true love is not found here on this earth, in this life. We need to live for this day and give our best to the Lord, however we should also be looking forward to our true home in anticipation.

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

~John 15:19

In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.

~John 14:2