At Home With the Lord

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 (NIV) ⁶  Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷  We live by faith, not by sight. ⁸  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

            I have been blessed on several occasions to be with persons as they neared their death. The blessing came from their understanding of and anticipation of “going home” to be with the Lord, even though “getting there” was hard. They saw death as the doorway to the presence of Christ and what He was preparing for them. I love Paul’s phrasing in 2 Corinthians 5:8 – “at home with the Lord”.

            “Home” is a word filled with so much meaning and depth. We all know a “house is not a home” and most of us associate home with persons as much as – if not more – than a physical location or building. Recently Joanne and I had an “adventure in traveling”… you know… the kind where you experience unplanned problems like a broken down vehicle or getting sick while away from home or being stuck someplace you don’t want to be. For us it was this last one. We flew from Tampa to Washington D.C. on the first leg of a trip to Portland. The first leg’s step went very well, but the second leg couldn’t get anywhere. Thunder and lightning kept us from leaving Dulles Airport. After waiting (too long) for a flight attendant, boarding and deplaning, we were told our flight to Portland had been cancelled. We weren’t going anywhere. We were directed to go to customer service. As we made our way we wondered what further adventures were awaiting us. The customer service area had just two persons working it. And then I noticed the line more carefully. As we walked along it down the terminal hall the line seemed just to go on and on. The longer it went the lower my optimism went with it. The entire airport was grounded and hundreds of people needed help to make arrangements to get home. To say the place was crazy might be an understatement. We kept going and going and going to finally reach the end of the line, which was a slow to move. I decided to try calling the airline while in line to see if I could get seats on a flight to Maine the next day. After a long wait I did get through to a company representative, but was told there were no seats on any planes to Maine the next day. I knew I did not want to wait two days to fly home. I had no idea where I would stay while waiting and I did not feel like paying for a hotel for what would amount to three hours of sleep. Anyway, I asked about a flight to Boston. Not exactly home, but closer to home. I could rent a car or we could take a bus to Portland from there and pick up my vehicle. That’s what I did and our adventure finally worked out. But part of the adventure was not much fun - sitting in the terminal overnight… dirty, not able to sleep or get comfortable. Joanne slept (a little) on the terminal floor. It was a pretty tough night. But by God’s grace, we are all able to do hard things.

All this is not to complain. God helped us to have good attitudes about the whole thing. And the next day – after the overnight in the terminal and a long day of making connections, we finally got home – a little over 24 hours later than we expected… tired, a little sore, and wanting some “real” food. But we were safe and secure. And – you know the feeling – it just felt so good to be home. From Dorothy Gale anxiously repeating “There’s no place like home” as she desperately hoped to get out of Oz and back to the farm with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, to soldiers returning from war, to the sentimental words of Kim Gannon’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas, to the life experience of everyday people everywhere, “home” – wherever and whatever it is – has a special place in our hearts. It is where we long to be.

When Paul writes about being “at home with the Lord”, I believe it is this kind of idea, though much deeper than human sentiment. Think about it: we who are in Christ have a home with the Lord. We can look forward to being there someday in the Lord’s timing. We are certainly in the midst of some “adventures” as we walk with Christ on our way to eternity, and we desperately need His help because some of those – even many – are hard and cause weariness and pain of many kinds. Nevertheless, we know we have a home with the Lord awaiting us. And that keeps us going. That keeps us from losing hope and giving up. One of my favorite songs is called Finally Home by the group Mercy Me. It speaks of the hope we have of being with the Lord and all that awaits us “at home” with Him. I thought of that song in the terminal at Dulles.

May the thought of being home with the Lord be an encouragement to us in times of loneliness, loss, struggle and pain. May it be a true and solid hope that we carry with us every day as life gives us reminders that this world is not our home. May our eyes be set on heaven and not on the things of this world that we are tempted to think are so great, but in the end are mere vapors. May our confidence be in the Lord to bring us home when, where, and how He deems best. And may we be secure in Him. Amen.

John 14:2 (NIV)  In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.

2 Corinthians 5:1-5 (NIV) ¹  Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ²  Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, ³  because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴  For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵  Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Hebrews 11:10, 13-16 (NIV)  For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God… ¹³  All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. ¹⁴  People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵  If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶  Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV) ¹  Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ²  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

PRAYER:  Father, through all things and in all of life I am always coming home. Keep me from all the distractions and keep my eyes fixed on living today with my home with You ever in mind. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott