home, sunday

Sunday, September 20

Opening Prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus,

     Thank you that here and there you have shown me glimpses of heaven, however briefly.  Now and then you have sent me echoes of it, however faintly.  And that once in a while you have allowed it to touch me, however gently.  Those glimpses, those echoes, those touches have awakened my longing for home, and for each one of those awakenings, I thank you.

     Thank you that I have a room in your Father’s house.  A place just for me.  Thank you for all you have done to ready it for my arrival.  For all the longings that lead me there and for all the reminders that let me know that this is not my home, I thank you, O Lord.  Remind me often, for so often I forget, that the very best of homes here on earth is just a shadow of the home waiting for me in heaven. (Moments with the Savior by Ken Gire)

Scripture: John 13:31-14:4

Journal: How do you feel when you arrive home after a long and tiring journey?  What are the joys of being home?  How does it make you feel to know that Jesus has made a home for us with him?  How does it make you feel to know that he has prepared a place for you?  How does that help you with all that faces you today? 

Reflection:

 

     For now, our life is a journey of high stakes and frequent danger.  But we have turned the corner; the long years of exile are winding down as we are approaching home.  There is no longer any question as to whether we will make it and if it will be good when we get there.  “I am going to prepare a place for you,” Jesus promised.  “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me” (John 14:2-3).

     One day soon we will round a bend in the road and our dreams will come true.  We really will live happily ever after.  The long years of exile will be swept away in the joyful tears of our arrival home.  Every day when we rise, we can tell ourselves, My journey today will bring me closer to home; it may be just around the bend.  All we long for we shall have; all we long to be, we will be.  All that has hurt us so deeply—the dragons and nits, the Arrows and false lovers, and Satan himself—they will all be swept away.

     Then real life begins.  (The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge)

Prayers

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that this world is not my home.  Thank you that you have a home prepared for me that is far more than I could ever ask for or imagine—more than I could dream about in my wildest dreams.  Thank you that one day you will take me there to be with you forever.  Amen.