I am a Pilgrim

I love fall. The colors are amazing up here in the north woods. . . I also love fall for the holidays that come soon after. It is a nostalgic time of year to be sure. I have great memories of making Pilgrim and Indian hats at school when I was a kid. I never quite understood the significance of the Pilgrims and Indians then, but the hats were pretty cool.

Now as I look back, I see a different kind of significance to the whole story. The idea of people traveling to a new land in order to make a permanent home intrigues me. . . I can relate on some levels - because I am a pilgrim too. I am living in a land that is not my own, but there is one significant difference. I am not looking to make a permanent home here. I already have one. It is in heaven, with Jesus.

You see, the bible teaches that once we accept Christ's death as the payment for our sins, we become sons and daughters of God, adopted into his family. That means that our home is wherever He is. He is our God, our Savior, and our Father. I will never be complete this side of heaven, because I am living in a body and a place that is only temporary.

I think if we all understood this, and really believed it, we would live much differently. Wouldn't we? I mean, if we actually lived as if this place was just temporary, and that heaven was our true home, then we would probably not be so attached to the things of this world, right? I was going to start off this blog by suggesting that we all move out of our houses and live in tents. I decided not to, because it seems like a fairly ridiculous notion, but it does make a point about the way we live our lives.

It is too easy to get caught up in making life full, comfortable, and fun here on earth. It becomes all about really living our Senior year, having the wedding of a lifetime, building the house of our dreams. . . when in reality, none of those things really matter! Its not that God doesn't want us to enjoy senior year, or have a beautiful wedding or a great home. . . its that those things should never consume the bulk of our energy or be our deepest desires. We are living for so much more!! There is an eternity in heaven, our true home, waiting for us. And everything we do here impacts the eternity that we will spend there.

The bible says it like this:

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God's holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people; now you are the people of God. Once you received none of God's mercy; now you have received his mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 1 Peter 2:9, 11

So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. That is why we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. So our aim is to please him always, whether we are here in this body or away from this body. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10

So, to ask a difficult question, do you long to be away from this earthly dwelling and living in heaven with your Father? Or does the thought of having to leave this world and all that it possesses scare you? It is a hard thing, and I am certainly not an expert in any of this.

But I cannot and will not avoid saying what I believe is true. No matter how hard it is to hear or live, the reality is that this world is not our home. The more attached we are to it, the less we will hunger for the return of our Savior and the eventual journey to our eternal home. We are to live holy, blameless lives here not because we are supposed to be better than everyone else. . . or because God wants us to have some sort of holy front that we show when we're around others. We are supposed to live holy and blameless lives because the life we live here will have an impact on the eternity we spend in heaven! The choices we make today will effect forever. . .

I am a Pilgrim. This is not my home. I am longing for the day when Jesus returns and places all things under his feet. I am longing to be reunited face to face with the saints that have gone before me. I struggle every day to keep my perspective on heaven and not to live for the things of this world. . . but I know that ultimately that is what we are all called to do.

Lift your eyes up. No matter what circumstances you face today, God is preparing a place for you that is greater than your senior year, more glorious than your wedding day, and more fulfilling than the house of your dreams.

Live for that. . . not this.