Heaven Is Not My Home

We love our home. But we are selling our home. And now I am kind of sad. The past weekend was a whirlwind of getting our home ready to list and hopefully sell this weekend. To get ready for this means we have spent the last week taking down everything that makes our house our home so it can be staged so a stranger can imagine our house becoming their home. It is all very bizarre. All this has got me thinking about place and belonging and home.

Tanya and I are both homebodies. There is nothing better than staying in on a Friday night, cooking a delicious meal together, and watching half a movie because we go to bed at 8:30… we may push it to 9:00 if it’s not a school night. All of that is going to be uprooted for the next few days as we stay with friends so strangers can walk through our home. Once that is over with, we will begin boxing everything up so all our stuff can be dropped off at another house that we will get to transform into our new home.

As a Christian and as a preacher I feel like I should be saying this is all a reminder that this place isn’t our true home. That heaven is our true home. But that isn’t true. Our ultimate hope is not a disembodied soul rest where we become one with the universe. God created us as physically embodied beings and called it very good! Our ultimate hope stays in line with his original design. Our ultimate hope is a real bodily resurrection where we will see Jesus face to face in the new heavens and new earth (Rev. 21).

I know that our house in Dallas or our house in Austin is not our true home in the greater sense. But as we put our new home together, I picture us partnering with God in his kingdom work as we create a space to practice hospitality with new friends. As we create a space to practice sabbath and holy rest. As we create a space where we can welcome the stranger and help remind him or her that they are part of God’s family.                  

This all sounds very idealistic, and it probably is. But as I pack each box, I am trying to be present and thank God for the memories we created in our first home as a family. And as I prepare to unpack those same boxes in Austin in a few weeks I am hoping I can remember to include God in that process as well. Our physical spaces and places matter to God. So much so that he stepped down into his creation in the form of a human to experience life just as we do. And for that I am thankful.

Grace and peace ’til we rise in glory.

P.S. I am going to be taking a few weeks off from posting as we move down to Austin. I have about a month off, so I am going to try my best to be present to my family and God as we mourn saying goodbye to Water’s Edge, and get super excited for our new chapter with the people of Bethany. If you want to stay in the loop with all that we are up to, please subscribe to my newsletter below. Thanks for reading!