Homeward Bound

Just the thought in the title of this article is comforting.  I like to go home.  Wherever I am, when I am away from home, I enjoy the thought of going home.  Home is where I know I am wanted.  Home is where I know I am welcome.  Home is where I can relax better than anywhere else – where I can be myself without putting on airs for others.  Home: what a warm word that is.

Our life on earth is like a journey.  We are but distant strangers in this world who are on a journey.  The journey is full of peril.  The journey is full of choices.  We may make the wrong choice in life and end up in the most extreme peril.  Life is uncertain.  Every turn on the journey offers an unseen friend or foe.  We never know what is just around the corner of our life – each day is different on our journey.

We came from God (Genesis 1:26).  To go back to God is to go home.  To not go back to God is to get off the track of a homeward journey.  We are all homeward bound.  It is our destiny to die – to leave this life – and to go home (Hebrews 9:27-28).  When we live a life with God as our, Father He will bring us home at the completion of our journey.  We will arrive at that place of welcome comfort – a place where we may rest from our journey and be free from all care (Hebrews 4:1-10; Revelation 14:13; 21:4).

Everyone who has ever lived has taken the same journey; a journey with two roads.  One road, the right road, leads to be eternally home; the other road, the wrong road, to be eternally lost.  Each journey has different lengths.  Some have a relatively short journey for their life is short.  Others have a relatively long journey for their life is longer.  But the length of the journey has nothing to do with the destination.  Actually, we may even somewhat envy those who have the shorter journey, for they have completed the course and have already gone home to rest (Luke 16:25).  What a blessed thought!

We are still here, taking the journey and facing the perils.  Let us each one take heed how we travel lest we fall onto the wrong road and leave the proper destination home for there are a manifold number who await our arrival.  We know some of them – they are brothers and sisters – fellow travelers – who are waiting for our coming home.  It would be a terrible shame for us to not be on the right road.

When we are the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26) it is because we believe in Jesus as the Christ (l John 5:1) and, having confessed our faith in Him (Romans 10:9-10) with a penitent heart (Acts 17:30), were baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:27).  We are then on the right road; taking the right way (John 14:6).  We must be diligent to remain in His way with endurance (Hebrews 12:1-2) as we walk the lighted highway to heaven (l John 1:7; John 8:12).  We can overcome all obstacles through His strength (Philippians 4:13) as we press on toward the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14).  We will get home when we remain on the right road – homeward bound.