Road-trippin'
I think the saying is pretty familiar…
It was nice to get away, but it's great to be home!
I said those words, recently.
A 2-week road trip, over 4000 miles, had me giddy with joy as we pulled back up to our house. We traveled through 10 different states, making one big loop—out and back from home. We visited family, friends, monuments, statues, towns, fields, mountains, lakes, rivers—you name it, we saw it. We’re putting it on our top-five vacations’ list. We had great times, with great memories.
But…
Home called. It tugged on my heart strings. It was that one constant that I knew we would return to, eventually. It was the anchor on the trip; we were away—it was there.
St Augustine said it best:
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
As children of God, we will always have an innate longing for home. Always. A restlessness that can’t be quelled, here. God designed us that way. He is the consummate Father who wants His children under one roof with Him. In turn, He put in us a restlessness until we see Him again.
He gave us a Northstar.
He gave us a place, for our focus, for the travel we are on.
I couldn’t help but think, over the miles of long roads, that this, my friends, is our vacation roadtrip. This current life. This current place. This current time.
Oh, certainly, it feels nothing like a vacation most of the time, but in the guise of eternity, this life of ours—here and now—is merely a stopping point. It’s as if we’ve pulled alongside a road marker to see a place of interest, for a short while, then continuing on to our destination.
That perspective of our life, should change things. It should change everything about the anticipation of the next, and how we view the now. It should give us a guidepost of how we travel here, in order to reach the destination, there. The restlessness becomes the guidance.
Our hearts were never made to long for here; they were made to want for there.
There, is where God is.
There, is where perfection is.
There, is where home is.
“For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.” Hebrews 13:14 TLB.
Jesus’ whole message was about the roadtrip.
His entire work—His entire reason He came—was about getting us, getting back home.
God gives us this life to enjoy, and relish, and grab hold of, and seek out all we can. But He also gives something much better—a home to return to…with Him. It’s a choice we have. It’s a decision now, for a destination later. A place where someday we will step into, and know the words better than ever…it was nice to get away, but it’s great to be home!
May we live our lives in anticipation of going home; it changes the perspective while we’re away.