This World Is My Home....

“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ‘Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.’”(Jeremiah 29:4-6)

Perhaps you are familiar with these lyrics written by Jim Reeves:

This world is not my home I’m just a passing through,
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.
Oh Lord you know I have no friend like you.
If heaven’s not my home, then Lord, what will I do?
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

It’s a comforting song to sing, especially when the cares of everyday life threaten to submerge us into the blackness of the sea. The prospect of heaven, of living eternally with the Friend like no other, is like light at the end of a tunnel.

If any group had reason to long for heaven’s joy, it was the Jewish people enduring the trials of exile. In the poetry of the psalms we read that, “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion”.

But God had a message and a purpose for His children. They were not to sit in idle grief, removing themselves from their neighbors, uninvolved in the country in which they found themselves. They were not to live in movable tents, ready to escape at any moment, but instead to “build houses and settle down.” The building of houses, the planting of gardens and the eating of their produce indicates a long term view. Not only were they to avoid living in a “holy huddle,” but they were specifically asked to “work for the country’s welfare” (The Message).

The people of God, living in rich fellowship with their Heavenly Father and in loving community with each other, will have influence and impact on their surroundings. At least for now, this world IS my home.

Father, Remind me that while Heaven is the promise of tomorrow, You have placed me here in this place for a reason. Help me to see the ways I can bring Your love to the people right in front of me today. Amen