person (the seller) values, another person (the buyer) seems not to…at least not yet. Either way, both want to ‘make a deal.’ Thus, the headache! Maybe it’s because of the inspector? He takes a snap shot in time (no pun intended) at the house searching every nook and cranny to see if there is any fault. And if he’s worth his salt, he’ll find a fault. Seriously, who doesn’t want to know what needs to be fixed? Truth be known, he is actually doing us both a favor. When we look at the brick and mortar from an inspector’s lens, it reveals things that the seller didn’t think was all that bad. Still, as the seller…this is my home and it’s always been good for me! Now someone comes along who wants to take this home as theirs and all those OK things are now not so “OK.”
This home has been our investment. But not so much in the roof and walls, as in the memories found within each room. Because, to be honest, this is our “home.” We celebrated here together and we’ve wept here together, all within these walls. Memories don’t come cheap and we should never undervalue the time we spend with our family, from the earliest of years to the ’empty nest.’ And now these walls will see a new family making new memories and celebrating together. But our home HERE is not a forever home. The memories we made will not stay within these walls. Our hearts hold and cherish ‘the home.’ There will be a day when the walls of this old house crumble with age. But our memories will be passed on from generation to generation…as the Lord allows.Lost? It May Be Time To Go Home!
Softly and Tenderly, Jesus is calling.
Calling for you and for me…
See on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.
Come Home, you who are weary…come home.
Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling, ‘O sinner, come home.’
If you read the last post you might think this is a follow up…it is, sort of, but I really just wanted you to think about Heaven as your Home. If that wasn’t clear enough earlier, please let me reiterate the idea that you have a Father who desires your company. Better put, God wants each of us to return home! All of us have been separated from His side at one time or another. (Romans 3:23) While there are many striving to live a life that is close to His heart, unfortunately there are far too many who don’t even realize they’re lost.
Why is that so many fail to see the comforts of being in the presence of God? The world (Satan) has deceived many of your friends and family into believing they are on our own and that’s OK. Without any hope or comfort (except in themselves) and the only thing to do is ‘take care of #1.’ That is sad condition and I shutter when I think how many have bought into this lie. It might be your son, or you father. Maybe your brother has turned away from what he knew was right on to follow a deceptive, dead end. When was the last time you called them to see if they would ‘come home?’ Have you called them lately and ask if they think of home? Many times we don’t because we don’t want rejection. Ignore the obvious and continue with business as usual.
But I wonder if sometimes we don’t make that call, because they might actually want to come home. And quite honestly, we don’t know how to receive them back. Jesus would (He does) not only receive the lost ones, He’s actually seeking them. (Oh yes, the prodigal son’s father ran to meet him because he saw him when, “…he was still a long way off…”, Luke 15:20.) If only we had the same desire as the Father, to not only be looking for those who want to return, but to seek those who are lost (the coin and the lamb wasn’t looking to go home, they were just flat out lost. (Luke 15:4-10)
There are many who are lost and don’t even know it. Some of them might be sitting next to you on Sunday morning. Could that be true? Would a ‘Sunday morning church goer’ still be lost and not know it? Just like the lonely sinner who sits on the other side of the world waiting for someone to ‘bring him home’. Let’s be more diligent about talking to each other about going home…
Homesick…But Are You ‘Weary’?
Have you ever been homesick? This is best described as a time when you were away from the
comfort and secure of what you know and love. During the months when a child goes to summer camp, ask them what it means to be homesick. In the lonely winter months before his Thanksgiving break, a college freshman might be feeling a bit homesick. Even that dream vacation can be tiresome after too many days away. Why? Maybe it’s the fact we miss the comfort of our own bed. Or maybe it’s the home cooked meal that we’re missing. Perhaps we just miss sitting together as a family and talking (do families still sit together and talk?) To be sure we all have experienced a time when we were ‘sick of being away from home’. At one time or another each of us have been homesick.
But ask yourself, ‘Am I really homesick?’ Do you long to be home or have you been away so long that you’ve grown comfortable with where you are and don’t think much about your home? I’m reminded of a young man who was tried of the family and decided to pack his bags and leave home. He enjoyed his vacation and even when he lost his new found friends, he still refused to go home. He was alone, lost all the comforts and security he once knew, but he wasn’t ready to ‘go home.’ His ‘vacation’ turned to misery and the comforts of home were just a memory…but notice this, he remembered where home was. Luke 15:11-32 details this young man and his return home. We often refer to this story as “The Prodigal Son”. He finally got the point he wanted to go home. And you know who was waiting and watching for his return…
This Biblical account reminds me of the old invitation song, “God is Call the Prodigal”. It’s a song that calls the listener to come back to God. One who has left what he knew and “…wandered so far from His presence,”. We know what it means to the parent whose child has ‘forgotten’ his/her way home, but do we realize the application for ourselves? Are we really weary of this world and longing to be ‘home’? Look again at these verses from this old spiritual song…
“God is calling the prodigal; come without delay; Hear, O hear Him calling, calling now for thee. Tho’ you’ve wandered so far from His presence, come today; Hear His loving voice calling still…”
“Patient, loving, and tenderly still the Father pleads; Hear, O hear Him calling, calling now for thee. O return while the Spirit in mercy intercedes; Hear His loving voice calling still…”
“Come, there’s bread in the house of the Father, and to spare; Hear, O hear Him calling, calling now for thee. Lo! The table is spread and the feast is waiting there; Hear His loving voice calling still…Calling now for thee, O weary prodigal come.”
It’s true that each of us at some time or another have been homesick and wished we could go home. But unfortunately many, unlike the prodigal son, are simply refusing to go home. Sitting in the darkness of the world, refusing to admit that life isn’t what they want it to be, too many have decided that they’re not homesick enough to go home. My prayer is that we will never become comfortable living in this foreign land. You might be feeling homesick, but the prodigal son had determined that he was weary. You might be homesick but you won’t go home…until you’ve grown weary of this world.