Going Home

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Second Corinthians 5:8   says, “ We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

     I was born in Michigan City, Indiana in 1938 which makes me 83 years old, I guess if my math is correct.  I have thought many times how thankful I am that I was born in America and not in Aleppo, Syria or Kiev, Ukraine. There is hardly a building standing in Aleppo as it seems everyone had their turn in bombing it.  In Kiev, old people my age are pusing heir walkers trying to get out of the way of advancing bombardment by the Russian army.  In many cases, they have what belongings they can carry in something similar to a Walmart plastic bag.  Things may not be perfect  in America, but at least the jets that fly over low have the insignia of the U. S. A. and not the red star.

The comfort for the believer is that we are not only citizens of the United States of America, but we are also citizens of heaven as Paul mentions in the Book of Philippians 3:20.  Paul went on to say in Second Corinthians 5:20 that we are “ambassadors” for Christ.  This is because earth is not our home, but heaven is!  An ambassador is one who represents the leadership of another country.  Our King and Supreme Ruler is the Lord Jesus Christ and if you are a believer, then  you are an ambassador representing His kingdom wherever you go.  When an American dies on foreign soil, his body is returned to the United States.  Many military personnel that have been killed in action return via Dover Air Force Base.  They come home to their final resting place.  In the same manner, when a believer dies, he or she goes home to their homeland and in our case, it is heaven because that is where the Lord Jesus Christ is.  Whether you're reading Job 19 or First John 3 or the Book of Revelation, you get the picture of what it will be like to be standing there face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ.  All the people who were tone deaf on earth will have perfect voices with which they will be praising God in song like you never believed.  Your eyesight will be perfect and able to see all of the millions of colors.  Your body will be without pain.  No more need for Tylenol or aspirin.  In just a brief moment, at your last heart beat, you will be present with the Lord and absent from your body.  I have seen a lot of dead people during my ministry and I often think that the part that I knew, the Spirit that made them who they were, has gone back to God according to Ecclessiastes 12.  You will then be able to say, “Finally home.”   Praise God for our permanent citizenship.