Revelation 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
1 Corinthians 13:12
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
My wife and I have lived in the tri-cities for over 25 years, in three different homes in three different neighborhoods. And we have a zillion family memories in those different houses.
But those physical spaces, those houses with walls and windows and doors, really aren’t home are they?
A house is a home only because of the people, the relationship, the love that dwells within that house. We can all remember that deep ache we felt when as children, we were separated for a time from our homes. We are homesick not for the structure of the house, but for the love that dwells within that house.
Our home is defined by people, presence and love.
Home is a place to be known!
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. Revelation 21:3
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12
That’s why we are all homesick! We are homesick for the presence of God himself. We are homesick for the world for which we were created. We are homesick for a place where we will know fully, and be fully known. That place, the Bible says, is Heaven.
In 1951 Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the English channel in both directions, doing so in a record time of 16 hours and 22 minutes.
Just a year later she attempted to swim the 26 miles between Catalina Island in the Pacific Ocean and the California coastline. The weather was cold and foggy, she could barely see the boats that accompanied her to fend off the sharks.
After swimming for 15 hours she began to tire. Her mother, among others, tried to encourage her, telling her that she was getting close, in hope that she could make it.
She swam on for another hour or so before becoming so physically and emotionally exhausted that she stopped swimming and had to be pulled from the water.
It wasn’t until she was on the boat that she discovered that she was less than a half mile from the shore. At a press conference the next day she said,
“All I could see was the fog – I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.”
God wants us to see the shore! God give us his word; he gives us Biblical prophecy; because he wants us to peer through the struggles, pain and fog of this life to catch a glimpse of the glory and joy that he is preparing for us even now!
Pastor Brian Coffey
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