A Heavenly Homesickness
Have you ever felt homesick for a place you have never been? Have you ever sensed you do not quite fit in, for reasons you cannot fully understand?
For me, the answers are yes and yes.
The bad news is it feels awful to sense you may not fit in or to be excluded from a group or event⸺the world can be harsh. The good news is that there are Scripture-rooted explanations as to why we may feel this way. You are not alone.
God has placed eternity in our hearts: This past week, I have been reflecting on the verse: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 CSB). We were created for something more than this temporal world can offer us. We were made for eternity in Christ. Titles, material goods, and important social statuses will never fully satisfy us and will leave us feeling empty when we turn to them instead of what is eternal. There will always be a longing for something only God can give us.
We are set apart: “You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be mine.” (Leviticus 20:26 CSB). The Lord made it clear to the Israelites that there were rules and expectations placed upon them if they were to enter and remain in the Promised Land. They were never meant to look like the surrounding pagan nations. Likewise, we are called to choose a countercultural life, and it may not make sense to others.
We are citizens of Heaven: “Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21 CSB). I love this truth: we are citizens of Heaven. We are foreigners on this earth and our conduct must match our heavenly citizenship. Our lives will look different from the world we live in.
Still, there is purpose and goodness in this world; we can live our life abundantly on this earth with joy and peace. We can continue to share our faith and invite others into the goodness of a life lived under the blessing of the Lord.
With these truths in our pocket, we can reframe the tough moments. The next time you are excluded or feel like you don’t fit in, embrace it. Thank God for it. Because the good new is we have eternity placed on our hearts, we are called to live set apart for a reason, and our citizenship is secure in Heaven through Jesus.
