Moving Day

 "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth." Colossians 3:2-3

With so much sickness, evil, destruction, and death taking center stage in our world I was drawn to ‘set my heart’ on things above me instead of ‘setting my eyes’ on the things around me. I decided that I would buy a book on Heaven mainly because there are several people whom I love who have loved ones with very serious medical issues. Since we have no control over these things, we do have control over what we fill our minds and hearts with. I just started a monster book which when delivered I immediately was intimidated by its thickness. But encouragement and knowledge are frequently found walking the halls of the imagination of inspired authors. Especially, when those authors have painstakingly based their imagination of Scripture.

Grant me a detour onto the off-ramp of my own experience when I was a child of 12 years old. We were the third family who built a home on an expansive tract of land right outside of town. Our mailbox was a mile from our home on the main highway and many days my sister and I would walk to check the mail. One day we left the road and went deep into the woods where we came upon an old dilapidated house. The siding was covered in black and peppered with holes. Half of the front porch was sunken and the screen door was stuck half way open. The steps to get on the porch were loose and rotten at best. Once we went inside it was dark, cold, covered with webs, bugs, and debris all over the floor. There was an eerie echo when we talked as if the emptiness was crying out to us. I didn’t realize the beauty of our own home until we walked out of that cabin and into our warm and wonderful home. And that is the point of my detour…

Those who are struggling with sickness, deterioration of the body, and diminishing health are like the old cabin. Our bodies were never meant to carry us further than earth. God placed within each of us a beautiful hourglass where the sands divinely move from the fullness of earth to the final home of Heaven. When that last single piece of sand finds its way through the neck of the bottle it is like ‘leaving the cabin and walking into that familiar and glorious home built just for us.’

“If you’re a Christian suffering with great pains and losses, Jesus says, ‘Be of good cheer’ (John 16:33, NKJV). The new house is nearly ready for you. Moving day is coming. The dark winter is about to be magically transformed into spring. One day soon you will be home – for the first time. Until then, I encourage you to meditate on the Bible’s truth about Heaven. May your imagination soar and your heart rejoice.”Heaven, Randy Alcorn, p. 22.