Are you homesick for Heaven? If you aren't, you should be. Here's why!
First of all, lets define homesickness, so we are all on the same page (on the same page - get it ?;)) Homesick can be defined as a very strong longing for home. Most of us in this life have experienced homesickness at least once. It might have been the first time you went away to camp, or when you left home for college. For me, it was my two deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq that allowed me to truly experience homesickness. You might be asking how can we be homesick for a place we have never been to? I propose that some of the very same things that we long for when we are homesick in this life are what should make us homesick for Heaven. So what are those things?
For most, home is a place of shelter, a place of protection, somewhere that our worries and cares can be laid aside, a place of shelter and rest. This is true of Heaven also. Revelation 21:4 (ESV) tells us, "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.”
When we are homesick, it is not necessarily for the place itself, but often for those who are there, our family and friends. Revelation 21:7 gives us an expectation that we will see our faithful family and friends again, even those we have never met, like Moses, Elijah, Paul or Timothy. It says, "The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son."
We can also be homesick for Heaven, because like our earthly home compared to college or camp or a dusty tent in the middle of the desert, it is better than where we are at currently. When the Apostle John described Heaven, he used imagery of gold and jewels to convey the extreme richness and excellency of Heaven compared to his readers' earthly homes. Even though we don't live in earthen huts or tents, even the most opulent home on this earth can never compare to our eternal home in Heaven.
If we are truly homesick for Heaven, then we are going to be like a horse headed for the barn. We won't let ourselves be distracted or drawn off course. We will be focused and intent. We read earlier in Revelation 21:7 that, "The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son." Conquerers are ones who have goals, and set out to accomplish them. Compare this with those mentioned in verse eight, those that take their eye off the prize. "But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." When we fail to focus on Heaven, to lay up for ourselves treasures there (Matthew 6:20), then we can become distracted and end up on the road to the wrong destination.
I would encourage you to stay on course. Many of us claim to be walking the straight and narrow (Matthew 7:13,14), when in reality, it is only occasionally that we are on that path as we stumble back and forth across it, like someone inebriated trying to pass a sobriety test on the side of the road! How sad is that? If we are truly homesick for Heaven, we will want to take as many people with us as possible so that they can all enjoy the benefits of being there also. Someone has said that our example preaches a louder sermon than our words ever will! How's your example? Is it truly the example of someone who longs for that place of rest, that place where our friends and loved ones will be, that place of indescribable beauty and splendor? If not, why not?
I pray that you are homesick for Heaven, and that your life reflects this homesickness. May Jehovah God bless us all as we strive to stay on the road to Heaven, and not the "Highway to Hell." - Robert
