Not Home Yet

It's easy to get caught up in life here. It consumes our thoughts and takes up all our time and it would seem that this life is what its all about. Our purpose is to make a difference in the world, right? For the non-believer that difference would be to bring peace maybe; for the believer that might mean they want to make a difference for Jesus, through showing His love. I fell in that trap.

Did I just call that a trap? Yes, I did. The truth is that eternity is what truly matters. In the end, we all die. No getting around it (unless you're maybe Elijah and he's not around either). So why are we here on earth, if all that matters is eternity? Because how we live on earth will one day reflect in heaven (Matt. 6:21). Living with eternity in perspective means that we remember this is not heaven. In fact trials are promised to believers, to think we won't experience them is to be totally naive. But it also means our hope is in heaven and that one day we will spend eternity with the Father rejoicing in heaven.

What does this have to do with my life right now? Well, I'll be honest, it's hard to keep an eternal perspective. I've been home for about six weeks, have sent out over twenty resumes, and still, I'm jobless. On top of that, this doesn't feel like home. It seems like a lifetime ago when I last lived here. How can a place seem so foreign when you've only been away for four years? And while I continue to apply for jobs here, my heart longs to return to California.

There are many times that I've gotten really discouraged and depressed. What has helped the most is not someone sitting there just listening to me pour out my heart, though it might help. It's actually quite novel, but getting in the Word. I spent about three weeks going through Job and I can't tell you how much it brought hope. Another thing that I found encouraging was to realize the trials of friends and that my family was not alone in the struggle. I might add that it does help that people are praying and love you through trials, whether you're seven miles away or seven thousand.

If we view our life, focusing on the here and now then we can only see short-term and we are not setting Christ and His kingdom before us. But when we focus on life in relationship to eternity, we are able to see that life is not about us, it's really all about Him. A change of focus is a change of heart and of lifestyle. This place we might refer to as home is really our mission field and home is where we will spend eternity. Think about it.