Leaving Home to Go Home.

“I’m on an exodus to nowhere-and I get mighty homesick sometimes.” -Ben Rumsen (played by Lee Marvin) in the movie, Paint Your Wagon.

There are some peculiarities in the Christian realm that might seem odd, or out of place to the uninitiated. My goal here is to explain some of those, by way of telling you about what the rest of my life is going to be like. When I think about what I’m going to do with the rest of my life, the quote above says it all. In saying that, I have no desire to earn pity or empathy from anyone. The quote above means something very different from what you might think.

Throughout the New Testament, the Bible continually reinforces a dynamic tension within all people, but especially expressed in Christians. That tension is based on citizenship. The average Christian you walk up to on the street will tell you their nationality when you ask them where they hold citizenship. In this country, most of the time, people would tell you they are Americans when you asked them. Or, some of them might tell you the town or state they live in. But there is another aspect to the citizenship of the Christian, and I want to explain how it works. The Apostle Paul, especially, makes a concerted effort to explain the concept that Christians have citizenship in heaven, in addition to wherever they live on earth. If there was a primacy to be given to one over the other, for Paul, heavenly citizenship comes before earthly citizenship. What that means, in very real terms, is that theologically speaking, Christians are literally the largest unlanded group of people in the world, and that we will never, nor should we ever have our own nation here. Paul entreats Christians to remember their heavenly citizenship and honor their homeland, living as foreigners in this world. At another point, he calls Christians, the ambassadors of Christ in this world. In fact, the word Christian literally means, “Christ like, or follower of Christ.” You may now begin to see where the above quote comes from. This world is not my home. It has never been my home, in the ultimate sense, nor will it ever be. I was made to spend eternity with God in heaven, and my citizenship, ultimately is there. My allegiance is there.

But that creates a problem, because it means we are citizens of a homeland we’ve never witnessed first hand. We can read accounts about how prophets have seen it, but that is very different than seeing it yourself. It is here where the basic definition of faith from Hebrews chapter 11 becomes so very important- “Faith is being sure of that which we hope for and certain of what we do not see. It is what the ancients were commended for.” In addition, from other places in Scripture, we must balance this view with the statements that say, “We must be in this world, but not of this world.” and, “we must be wise as serpents and as peaceful as doves.” You can see the dynamic being formed here.

This world is not my home. But is my dwelling, my residence, my mission, my purpose. It is a temporary dwelling, a tent, that will one day become outdated, and will go the way of all matter. The spirit of God dwells inside of me, but that indwelling of the Holy Spirit is only the seal on my birth certificate, the stamp of approval for my change of residency form. I’ve been accepted for the move that will take place, now I’m just waiting for time when the move comes, when I shed this chunk of flesh I’ve been toting around for 24 years and trade it in for a newer model…a new physical body with God in glory at home. While you might find what I’ve just said a bit contrived and holy sounding, that is the reality of what Bible-believing Christians see in the world they live in. We are foreigners in a land not our own. Some theologians have gone even further with the analogy. CS Lewis, in talking about the spiritual aspects of the Christian life, literally compares that being a foreigner to being conducting espionage for a foreign army about to invade. While that might be a bit of an overstate, the analogy has its uses.

At any rate, it is important to understand that from the Biblical perspective, this land is not my home. It may be familiar, it may be comfortable, it may be special to me, but it is not home. Home is homier, if that makes any sense.

(continued, next entry)