Last night, Janet and I returned home from a week long cruise that we took from Charleston, SC to Amelia Island, FL via the intracoastal waterway. To be sure, I never knew that the intracoastal waterway extended that far north, but we learned quite a bit about it on the ship. It turns out that the waterway was created as an alternative to sailing on the Atlantic Ocean itself. It was a way for troops to move during wartime without subjecting them to the onslaught of enemy ships off the coast. I never knew that!
I admit it is tougher traveling these days than it was when Janet and I were much younger, but we still enjoy seeing places and lifestyles that are so different from our own. We met some fabulous people onboard and have pretty much committed ourselves to the idea of small ship sailing. It’s wonderful to only have 100 passengers onboard and be in an environment where everybody seems to be like minded. To cap it off, we booked another cruise next year with our favorite travel companions who were unable to join us this time, but are already looking forward to sailing with us around the upper part of New England in Maine.
It is so interesting to see the different lifestyles of people around our nation. In fact, Janet and I have pretty much decided that we want to focus on traveling around this country as opposed to heading to Europe or other destinations around the globe. It just seems that we are the most comfortable learning more about this great nation of ours.
I can’t help but remember the travels of Charles Kuralt, a host who travelled the highways and byways of the US, stopping in obscure places and presenting news magazine stories about where he had been. The series was called, “On the Road” and was very popular a number of years ago. It was one of my favorite shows and I even read a book he wrote about his encounters. The best stories happen in the most obscure places.
We got home in time for the Indy 500 race today. No, we didn’t go but we have a tradition of listening to it on the radio. The pre-race activities are always special and one of the most important parts of the celebration is the singing of “Back Home Again in Indiana.” For those of you who are race fans, you undoubtedly remember Jim Nabors, who sung this nostalgic song for years at the beginning of each Indy 500 race. Those are great memories.
It struck me as I was listening to the song this morning that there is no place like home. Yes, it was fun to get away, but it is even better coming “back home again.” Sure, it’s fun to see different things and meet different people, but Janet and I don’t like being gone too long because we miss our family! We are fortunate that all three of our kids and four grandchildren live within ten minutes of us.
The Scripture is quite clear that we are on the earth, but not of the earth. This is not our forever home. We are here for now, but believers have their eternal home in heaven. That seems difficult for us to understand because we take it on God’s Word that we belong in heaven. It’s not like we have been there already. Jesus originally descended from heaven to take on human form and live among us as a model of behavior that we should emulate. Then, as we read, he ascended back to His Father after His resurrection. In fact, He has gone ahead to prepare a place for us to live with Him.
Our verse tonight affirms that we belong in heaven and are just visiting here. The apostle Paul tell us, in his book to the church at Philippi, in Philippians 3:20-21, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” So not only do we have our home in heaven, we will have new bodies that we will be presented with. If we are so excited to be back in Indiana, I can’t even imagine the joy we will experience when we enter heaven.
My encouragement this evening is that eventually, Jesus wants to call us home… to be with Him. My prayer is that we will make the most of our time here, exploring and learning as we tell people the Good News of Jesus Christ, realizing that there truly is “no place like home.” Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…