Up here in Minnesota, the winters get extremely cold, sometimes reaching -30 or even -40 fahrenheit. (-34 to -40 celsius) Because of this, once it starts to cool down in the fall, some people in our town will head down to the southern part of the United States where it is warmer, and they will stay down there until spring. While they are down there they will “live” at a resort, which is a “destination designed to provide recreation, entertainment, and accommodation, especially to vacationers.”
A resort is not a permanent home. It is a place that someone stays at for a little while, until they eventually leave. Once it becomes spring and starts to get warmer back up in Minnesota, one by one they will all come back to their “permanent” home.
How long do we live on the earth on average? 70, 80, 90 years? Sometimes a little more, but the point is that we all eventually die. We are born, grow and grow until we reach adulthood, slowly aging until we get old and die. But what happens after we die? Where do we go?
The earth is a “resort” or hotel of sorts, where we spend a certain amount of time. It is not an “indefinite” home where someone can live forever.
In Hebrews 11, the “faith” chapter, (when talking about people of faith) it says,
“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” Hebrews 11:13-16
They were “strangers and pilgrims” on the earth, seeking a heavenly country. They were seeking for the Kingdom of God, which is what Jesus is preparing for His believers.
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:2-3
Unlike the earth, which will eventually come to an end and be destroyed, the Kingdom of Heaven is eternal. Eternity. That is a word that we on earth truly have a hard time fully understanding. Our “finite” minds cannot understand what an “infinite” world would be like, because everyone/everything on the earth “ends.” We have a start and we have a finish. We are born and we die. The sun rises and the sun sets.
When you stop to think about it, from the moment we are born, our bodies are slowly dying. The timer of our lives is slowly ticking down until the moment we go to be with the Lord. Imagine taking an eye dropper full of water out of the ocean and dropping it onto the sand. How long would it take to empty that ocean? An eternity. And that is what we are seeking for. Eternal life.
Imagine a world where everyone loves each other, is kind and joyful. A world free of sin and evil. A place that is perfect in everyway. A place that people can live forever. That place is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Each day that passes is one day closer to the day that we leave this world behind, and go to our eternal home, and I can’t wait to be there. How about you?
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 