Jump Start # 1843

2 Corinthians 5:8 “We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.”

Last night I preached about eternal life. That topic naturally leads to thoughts about Heaven. Being with Lord, in Heaven, is the theme where our verse is taken today. Paul says we prefer to be at home with the Lord. Home with the Lord is Heaven. Home.

We often interchange the word home and house. When we think about where we dwell, our homes, our houses, there is a comfort about that. Certainly, we often think about needing to paint, find more room, update counter tops and on and on, but there is no bed like your own bed. Coffee just tastes better out of your own cup, made just the way you like it. It’s at home that we can kick off our shoes, literally, sit in our favorite chair and relax. There is no place like home. Home sweet home, is more than something cross stitched and framed on a wall, it’s truly a calming and restful thought. When on the road, even on vacation, getting home sounds wonderful. Every year there is one or two kids who are sent off to camp who get so home sick that they must leave. They miss home.

But Heaven isn’t couches, beds, kitchens, accent pillows, doors and walls. Most of us would be amazed at how small those first century homes were. Even in our past, the log cabins of our forefathers, would fit within our modern living rooms. Structure is not the thought here.

Home brings another thought, not the structure and furnishings, but the people. What we truly like about our homes, is not the brick, stone and paint contrasts, but the people who live within those walls. It’s the love, the acceptance, the joy, the history, the comfort of being around family. Your family. Your family is special to you. Your family is dear to you. Late last night, my wife and I were looking for a graduation picture that one of our kids needed for work. There were lots of pictures. It was late, and I was tired, but it’s hard to flip through pictures, without going down memory lane and talking about those times. Family. Home.

Home– the people, those are the ones you miss the most when you are gone. When there is some exciting news, it’s the people at home, your family, that you want to share with first. When things are not going well, it’s the people at home that help you the most.

When we think about home, we have a history, both with the place and with the people. Home is where we live. Home is my family. This is the word Paul uses to describe Heaven. To be at home with the Lord—a place we have never been before, and a relationship that has only existed by faith. The history isn’t the same as with our physical family. Yet, home with Jesus—is the concept Paul draws from.

Three simple thoughts.

Home with the Lord is where I am loved, accepted and wanted.

Home with the Lord is where I am comfortable.

Home with the Lord is where I want to be.

Given the choice, of being here, or being there, Paul said, “we prefer to be at home with the Lord.” There are always things here that disrupts “home.”

First, nearly every day, we must part from one another. We have to go to work, go to school, go somewhere. We are always going somewhere. It’s to the store. It’s to the doctor. We must leave each other. There is no leaving Heaven. There is no other place to be. We don’t have to go somewhere else. The journey ends with Heaven. It is our final place.

Second, because of sin, even at home, we disappoint, let each other down and hurt one another. We say things that we shouldn’t to the people we love the most. We get selfish and we do things that hurt the people we love. Home, as much as we love it, isn’t perfect, because we are not perfect. There won’t be any sin in Heaven. There is no tears, death or mourning. The first things have passed away. These things are all connected to sin.

Third, home never stays the same. This is true of the physical structure as well as the people. My dad, who is in his nineties, was born at home. That home is where my grandparents lived for decades. About a year ago, that house burned to the ground. Nothing remains. That really bothered my dad. He told me about it several times. Home never stays the same. Even the people don’t stay the same. Kids grow up and move out. We age. Eventually, we come to the end of our journey here. Home here is constantly changing. It’s not that way in Heaven. No one ages and dies. No one leaves. No one falls apart.

Fourth, Jesus is at home in Heaven. He’s in many of our homes, because He is in many of our lives. He lives in our hearts. But we also know that in many homes, one is a Christian, and another may not be a Christian. That relationship will never be as great as it could be because they are not the same spiritually. It’s hard to have a deep discussion about Biblical matters with someone who doesn’t know the Lord, or worse, doesn’t really care about the Lord. It’s hard to pray with one who is not a Christian and doesn’t understand. Heaven has Jesus. Heaven has only believers. Heaven is perfect.

We prefer to be at home with the Lord. Like a child waiting for Christmas, or, an adult anticipating a vacation, Paul wanted to be in Heaven. To be with the Lord, won’t that be wonderful!

Home—what a great word to describe Heaven. Where’s home? I live in Indiana. I have a house in Indiana. But my home is in Heaven! That’s the way we need to see things.

Live as if one foot is already in Heaven.

Roger