This World is Not My Home

I'm here on earth for just a little while.

Psalm 119:19 (TEV)

This thought came to me after hearing Carrie Underwood's song, Temporary Home. I cried when I first time heard the song and paid attention to the lyrics. What a powerful message the writer tries to tell us. I personally take this message very serious. Cos actually that is the fact that we all should know, as human beings who live on this earth.

This world is not my home. It's not where I belong. I belong to eternity, with God in heaven. 

To make the best use of my life, I must never forget this truth. Earth is only a temporary residence. Compare to eternity, life is extremely brief. I won't be here long, so I don't wanna get too attach. This is not my permanent home or final destination. I'm just passing through, just visiting earth. My identity is in eternity and my homeland is heaven. When I understand this truth, I begin to stop worrying about "having it all" on earth. God is very strict about the danger of living for here and now, adopting the values, priorities and lifestyle of the world around us. When we flirt with the temptation of the world, God calls it spiritual adultery. We are here in this world but we live our life not according to what the world says, but based on the the Word of God.

This facts explain why, as a followers of Jesus, I experience difficulty, sorrow, and rejection in this world. It also explains why some of God's promises seem unfulfilled, some prayers seem unanswered and some circumstances seem unfair. This is not the end of the story.

I will not completely happy here because I'm not supposed to be. Earth is not my final home. I was created for something much better. A fish would never be happy living on land, because it was made for water. An eagle could never feel satisfied if it wasn't allowed to fly. I will never feel completely satisfied on earth, because I was made for more. I will have happy moments here but nothing compared with what God has planned for me.

God's goal for my life is not material prosperity or popular success as the world defines it. The abundant of life has nothing to do with material abundance and the faithfulness to God doesn't guarantee success in a career or even in ministry. Never focus on temporary crown. In God's eyes, the greatest heroes of faith are not those who achieve prosperity, success and power in this life, but those who treat this life as a temporary home and serve faithfully, expecting their promised reward in  eternity.

This doesn't mean that we just sit and doing nothing while we're waiting for our time to come home to heaven. Don't get me wrong. Whatever good work you are doing right now, keep doing it. If you work, keep working. If you study, keep studying. If you're a mother and a wife, keep serving your family with love. If you're a priest or a minister, keep spreading the Gospel to the lost souls. If you're a doctor, keep saving lives. Do the best you can do to serve God and others. Just remember, when you finish, you have to leave this world for good, eventually.

My time on earth is not the complete story of my life. I must wait until heaven for the rest of the chapters. It takes faith to live on earth as a foreigner. As an ambassador of Christ, earth is just a place to do some assignments, to do God's works to bring souls to Jesus. I will not become so comfortable here. My citizen is in heaven. When I finish all my duties as an ambassador, I will return to my home in heaven.

Isn't that great? :)

So, when my life gets tough, whenever I'm sick, whenever I'm overwhelmed with doubt, or when I wonder if living for Christ is worth the effort, I will remember that I am not home yet. At death I won't leave home -- I will go home.

Blessings!!