Homecoming

2 Corinthians 11:23 - 12:4 I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? 30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. 33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands. NIV 2 Corinthians 12:1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know-- God knows. 3 And I know that this man-- whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows-- 4 was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.

Philippians 1:21-24 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.

In Pastor Ryan’s blog entry Friday morning, he passed on a proverb that reminds of our mortality:

“Live each day as if it were your last, because one day it will be.”

I thought about it for a while after reading it before God showed me the meaning of the application. Living every moment of every day in pursuit of the glory of God means I am living every moment in anticipation of going home to be with my Father and my family of faith for all eternity. Like a soldier fighting a war overseas who writes letters to his family, looks at pictures of his wife and kids, knowing the fighting and hardship is temporary, looks forward with eager anticipation of going home to them.

Since I was eighteen, I have been enamored by the testimonies of missionaries, many of them giving their lives for the sake of their calling. I have wanted to develop the faith and passion for God and for the urgency of sharing the gospel that would result in the ability to give my life willingly should it be required. I have quoted Philippians 1:21 over and over again as the purpose for my existence. In all this time, I have failed to give much attention to what is waiting for me after death. Heaven has only been an idea and an ideal to me rather than a pending reality. Wow have I missed out!

Paul met and saw Jesus on the road to Damascus, thus qualifying him as an apostle of Jesus Christ. The suffering he endured, described in the passage above, was tolerated due to the certainty beyond doubt not only of the truth to which he bore witness, but also to the eternal reward that was waiting for him. From his suffering was born hope of deliverance not on earth, but in heaven. The reality of his destination was grounded by the reality of having seen Jesus face to face and continued intimacy with the almighty God as he daily met with him in his quiet place and saw his influence all around him.

Jesus told Thomas, the disciple who insisted on seeing Jesus and touching his wounds before he would believe he had risen from the dead "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29) Despite the fact we cannot see God and have very little tangible evidence of our eternal destination, they are real; as real as what we can see and touch. The blessing of knowing their reality comes by the revelation of faith, “. . .where knowledge meets experience, where knowing about God becomes knowing God.” (The Common Thread, “Faith Realized”). Like John, the author of Revelation, I find it difficult to describe my new vision of my future home. For lack of a more potent word, it is beautiful!