It was 6am and all of us were up and dressed. Our four suitcases were ready packed with clothes, some toys for the kids and a few other things for our 6 month time out to Washington, USA. It was a very strange and weird atmosphere in the house as I looked at everything packed away including all our ‘memories’ of this wonderful home of ours! Most of our stuff was now in storage and the house felt empty. Somehow I knew we would not be returning to our home, although at the time I just denied it inwardly. We were leaving, but not for a vacation but rather for a way of escape from all that had happened to us as a family. This only added to the strange experience of that morning. I will never forget how painful it was knocking on our elderly neighbor’s door to say goodbye. They were such a lovely couple and our kids were often in their garden making them laugh. They had tears in their eyes. I got one quick photo in being the sentimental person I am, and then it was time to finally drive off to Heathrow Airport.

Deep down we were leaving everything behind – family, friends, culture, history, memories, schools, community and our possessions. But the biggest sense of what we were leaving was ‘home’. I just kept saying to God, ‘Lord this is just so strange. What’s happening to us? What is this all about?

Sojourners
As I read through the bible I find that it is full of examples of God’s people losing their earthly homes and finding themselves far away from what is familiar.

Abraham, Joseph and the people of Israel all found themselves in a life that wasn’t stationary! They were constantly on the move without a permanent earthly home. And then what about the early Christian church? They were a ‘scattered people’ (Acts 8:1). They were a persecuted people because of their faith in Jesus! Not a lot different from the persecuted Christians in Iraq at this moment in time! Peter in his letter to the scattered Church describes the Christians as –

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to…” (1Peter 2:11)

The dictionary describes the word Sojourner as – ‘to stay for a time in a place; live temporarily’.

We as a family have certainly felt like ‘sojourners’ over the last 2 years! We have lived in other people’s homes, we have even lived in a homeless shelter for a month! But all the time desperately seeking to find a home of our own again…

What does the good news of Jesus offer in times like these?
How did the apostles in the bible encourage those early Christian believers who were exiled from their homeland? How does the gospel bring hope to those who feel lost and without a ‘home’ in this world?

13 “These (Christians) all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:13-16)

The above verses describe the way of life for much of the early Christian church. They were desperately seeking a ‘homeland’. In the Old Testament that was called the promised land in Canaan. But now they found themselves in ‘exile’ and were ‘strangers’ on the earth. In other words they were scattered and not at home here. They were not settled and yet they were desperately looking for that. But here’s the point – they never found that ‘home’ here on earth because their true home that they were created for was coming. The ‘country’ or homeland and life they were looking for was a ‘heavenly one’. Something that God had prepared for them in the future.

Not looking back but forwards to the heavenly city!
Did you notice in the above passage verse 15? This really grabbed me! A key to moving forwards when you are feeling lost and unsettled in life is this – not looking back but to the greater thing ahead. In this case the early scattered Church had their eyes upon the heavenly home that would one day be there’s!

Temporary blessings while we wait
7 months into our stay in America God blessed us and provided us with a wonderful home of our own. It was so exciting to move into a house we could call home again but… I can’t quite say I am ‘home’! That’s probably because London will always be home for me. However, I have also come to think that maybe wherever I end up in this life I will never quite feel I have arrived… This is because that deep human desire for ‘home’ and security is only going to be fulfilled one day when Jesus Christ returns and brings us into glory! And so in the midst of this temporary life God blesses us with things now. But remember these blessings are temporary and not the fullness of what is to come for us!

Don’t build your ‘home’ on the Sand of this world
So don’t build your life and your hopes on the shaky sand of this world. You will eventually set yourself up for disappointment. Trust me I have been there! This world is temporary and not stable (the news at the moment makes that very clear)! Maybe you are reading this and you are not a believer in Jesus… Maybe you don’t have the hope that every Christian can have even in the midst of a war torn world. My message to you is this – Jesus Christ is the answer to your human longing for peace, belonging and ‘home’. Seriously, if you are seeking hope and help in life, please feel free to message me or ask any questions. I would be more than happy to share with you the hope that I have through Jesus.

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…” (Philippians 3:20)