‘But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,’ Philippians 3:20 (NIV).
Pacific salmon are fish that are born at the top of a river, head downstream to the ocean and then, after five or six years swimming about, suddenly get an urge to return to the headwaters of their birth river. They battle fishermen, bears and giant hydroelectric dams, fighting their way upstream determined to reach home.
Scientists don’t know how the salmon make their way back up to the exact river in which they were born after being in the ocean for several years. Some think it’s because they can taste or smell the fresh water from their river. Others think they may use the stars to navigate. Regardless of how they do it, we know they don’t use charts and compasses. Their journey is intuitive. They have a longing for a particular river, and it can’t be satisfied until they find it.
That’s exactly how it is with us. God created us for Heaven, and nothing in this life will fully satisfy that longing (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Just like those salmon – we’re in this world but we’re not of it.
Yes, we will find joy in fulfilling the work in life God has given us, but it’s nothing compared to the joy that awaits us in Heaven. Paul says in Philippians 3 that we are a colony of Heaven on earth, clinging tightly to our life-giver, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Prayer:
‘Dear Lord, thank you for the work you have given me to do here on earth until you call me home. Thank you for the joy and eternal union with you and those I love, that awaits me there. Help me run the race that you have set before me well until that time.’
In Jesus’ Mighty Name,
AMEN!
Final Thoughts:
He will transform our humble bodies and transfigure us into the identical likeness of His glorified body. He will, at just the right time, call us home to be with Him, and as our loved ones leave this earth to join Him in Heaven, our longing to join them in our true home, will only increase.
Be Greatly Blessed!
