A PLACE CALLED HOME

An old gospel song entitled “This World is Not My Home” begins:

“This world is not my home, I’m just 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.”

There is a longing and wistfulness found in these words. It’s the awareness of a believer who recognizes that his permanent home is not in this life but in eternity. Paul spoke of the drawing power of his eternal home when he said,

“My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account” (Philippians 1:23-24, ESV). 

Paul was expressing his desire to go to heaven and be free from the drudgery and pain of this world but knew he needed to suppress those feelings because there was still work for him to finish here.

Most Christians believe in heaven but not as many actually believe in hell. This is illogical because if you believe in one, you have to believe that there is an opposite. If you believe there is a place of reward then you have to believe that there is also a place of punishment or, at best, a place of non-reward. In what is perhaps an even more disastrous position, many believers today pay no attention to the importance of eternity in our future. When we have no strong feelings or no opinion at all about eternity, we are saying that our conduct here in this life has little or no consequence.

I believe in a literal hell and a literal heaven. I cannot recall the last time I have actually heard a sermon on either, but I still believe in both. These subjects are just not in vogue in today’s church. I think there are several reasons (notice I did not say good reasons) why the church today does not teach on or is ambivalent about eternity, about heaven and hell.

•     Much of the current ambivalence on eternity and the consequences of how we live is because much of the church does not want to be told how to live; the subject of holiness and living a pleasing life toward God is not high on the popularity list. The subject of punishment and hell was probably overdone in the past but it is still a vital truth that needs to be properly established in our thinking as believers.

•     The church of today does not believe there are serious consequences to inappropriate behavior for the believer or the unbeliever. When was the last time you heard a really intelligent sermon on the consequences of sin? I don’t remember the last one. We hear powerful teaching on, “Whatsoever a man sows that also shall he reap” applied to giving, business, etc. but the same principle applies to bad behavior!

•     We live in the most materialistic generation of all time. On top of that, we live in one of the most materialistic countries of the world. To make it even more depressing, I live in a part of Texas where materialism has been refined to a fine art form. Californians and New Yorkers really don’t have a lot on Texans (especially Dallas and Collin County) when it comes to unabashedly embracing materialism. And that’s as true of the church community as it is the general population.

Materialism is addictively seductive and when it runs rampant in the church, it causes people to lose their eternal perspective. The church in North America has become self-centered and materially addicted. If you don’t think I’m being fair, just watch what is called “Christian television.” Many of the programs are about how God wants you to be wealthy and successful — and it will begin if you send them an offering and then they tell you what the “anointed amount” is!

As the song says, “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through; my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.” (Too often that isn’t true in the Texas church — in Texas our treasure is laid up in our cars, our houses, our clothes and our jewelry.)

Let me try to put all this into some semblance of perspective. I am grateful that I live in America; I am grateful that I live in Texas. I am grateful for all of God’s blessings on my life and on my family. But it is my responsibility to maintain a right perspective and to continually recognize that this world is not my home. Jesus said:

“In My Father's house there are many dwelling places (homes). If it were not so, I would have told you; for I am going away to prepare a place for you. And when (if) I go and make ready a place for you, I will come back again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:2-3, Amplified Bible).

Jesus was talking about our eternal dwelling, the “place called home”! And like a good host, He has gone on ahead to prepare for His guests.