GOING HOME

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  (Revelation 21:4)

Our precious little granddaughter Lindsay Alice Groen went home to be with Jesus on this day in 2008. On May 15^th, this was the devotional that God used to prepare my heart for her home-going. We praise the Lord for His faithfulness to our family in the midst of one of the most difficult times of our lives. Thanks, Chris, for sharing these words. Little did you know how timely they would be – Bill Welte

I was eleven and it was my first summer camp.  We carried pup tents to the field.  My tent mate wanted to be with his friends though, so I had to be alone.  When hard rain came, the trench I had dug around my tent worked more like a funnel.  Everything was getting soaked.  So I moved into a car. I thought of it myself.  I forgot my pillow though, and when I got back with it, others had moved in.  They tossed my stuff out and locked the doors.

Sports day was my chance.  I was a good distance runner.  Things were great until I went the wrong way.  By the time I got on course it was too late.  Instead of a ribbon I received a few questions about my brain and a lot of laughs.  It was the hayride though that did me in.  Other kids were climbing on the tractor, so I thought I’d join them.  When I went to pull myself up, I grabbed the exhaust pipe.  I was badly burned but was too ashamed to ask for help.  I remember sitting through the night with my hand in a bucket of water, fighting back tears, and thinking; I just want to go home.

Sometimes life can be really hard.  We get locked out.  We come in last.  We are hurting and too ashamed to say so.  We end up all alone.

Won’t it be great to go home?  I’m not saying that we should accept defeat, or give up; or that life doesn’t have its share of happiness as well.  I’m just saying won’t it be great to go home?  It’s where you are accepted, and valued, and cherished.  It’s where all of the disappointments, and failures, and pain of this world get left at the door.  It’s where you get to hug your father.  It’s where you find out that there are a lot of people who really do love you.  The scriptures assure us that we will live one day in a brand new world with God and as part of His family.  Even now Jesus is preparing your place.  Never forget why you are a Christian.  Never forget that one day you will go home. Chris Thompson is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a pastor in Leicester, England.

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Kings 10-11; Matthew 8:18-34

Quote of the day: Where we cannot trace God’s hand, we can trust His heart. Dr. Adrian Rogers

Bible Memory: “Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.” Psalm 119:89-90