Home is where the heart is!

 

When I wrote this article, I was about to go to the airport to board a flight to Wellington, New Zealand. We were travelling home to Liverpool in the North West of England. Home is a wonderful place to be with your own ‘kith and kin’. It is never more appreciated than when you are away from them. Though we are not looking forward to the 30 hours of travelling, the anticipation of seeing our family and grandchildren again makes up for any minor discomfort.

Carole (my wife) and I have been away for about five weeks. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in the southern hemisphere. The plan was to visit some churches in Australia and New Zealand, to speak at conferences and seminars on the world’s best-selling book, the Bible.

It never fails to amaze me how timeless and cross-cultural the Bible is. It addresses the most profound issues that we as humans grapple with, such as:

Where do we come from - our origin?

Why do evil and suffering exist?

Why are we all mortal beings who eventually die?

Where do our consciousness, identity, creativity, and intelligence come from?

Why is there order and design?

Why are we all morally aware of right and wrong?

Why do we need help to do what is right?

Where did the universal concepts of love, hope and peace come from?

These questions and many more have been debated and discussed for generations. There are answers, but they don’t come from philosophical arguments but from the revelation of God in the Bible.

A book I am reading puts it succinctly - ‘the Bible is the only book that makes sense of life 1’. The Bible goes beyond highlighting the problems and discussing the consequences as it delivers a solution. 

The Bible’s explanation of our origin answers many of these questions. It states in Genesis chapter 1 verse 1, ‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,’ it goes on to describe the creation of humans - ‘Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them,’ Genesis 1. 26,27. 

Home Sweet Home

 

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

Do you enjoy the warm feeling of being in your home? That assumes, of course, that you have a home, you enjoy being at home, or your home is in a fit state to live in. However, home life can be a nightmare for many people. It is often a place of confrontation, where you are on edge, unsure what will happen next. For others, home just doesn’t exist. It’s a dream, something that, so far, just hasn’t happened for them – couch surfing, shared accommodation or, at worst, they have ended up living on the street. 

 

I’ve been privileged to travel extensively in the last 10 to 15 years. There seemed to be abundant wealth in North America, but despite Uganda being a beautiful country, there is significant poverty. Yet, at the same time, the people are really happy. In Pakistan, for the average person, life is just so hard, and it’s incredible to see what some people call home - tents, etc. Those living in comfortable, safe, dry homes should be grateful and appreciative.

Home

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

Do you enjoy the warm feeling of being in your home? That assumes, of course, that you have a home, you enjoy being at home, or your home is in a fit state to live in. However, home life can be a nightmare for many people. It is often a place of confrontation, where you are on edge as you are not sure what will happen next. For others, home just doesn’t exist. It’s a dream, something that, so far, just hasn’t happened for them – couch surfing, shared accommodation or, at worst, they have ended up living on the street. 

 

I’ve been privileged to travel extensively in the last 10 to 15 years. When I visited North America, there seemed to be an abundance of wealth. Uganda is a beautiful country, but there is significant poverty. Yet, at the same time, the people are really happy. For the average person in Pakistan, life is just so hard, and it’s incredible to see where some people call home - tents etc. But on the other hand, those of us who live in comfortable, safe, dry homes should be extremely grateful and appreciative.

 

Overall, it is amazing to see people’s resilience, love of life, appreciation of kindness, and strong sense of family and belonging. What have they got to live for? I suggest that for many, they have their sight set on another world. 

 

The Bible says that no matter what type of home life we have in this world, there is the prospect of a better home in the next. In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ is recorded as telling His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them. In that conversation, He indicated that He was going back to heaven, His Father’s house and that he would look forward to welcoming them to live there with him. I have a feeling that the preparation He was talking about did not involve ‘bricks and mortar’ but that by His death, burial, and resurrection, He was making life in heaven available to all. He was going to die for sin and suffer, the just for the unjust (us) to bring us to God. 

 

Many of my readers will not be convinced that the Bible is relevant to them. But, as a Christian, I am convinced that the Bible is more than just an interesting book or a book of ancient or historical value. Instead, I believe that the Bible is a unique book vital for every human being to understand why they are in the world and why they need a relationship with God.

 

As I finish, let me take you back to the words of the Lord Jesus.

 

As well as promising that He was going back to heaven (the inference being that He had come from heaven to this planet in the first place), He was making it clear that He is the only way for every human being to get to know God (His Father) and to be in a fit condition to occupy heaven on the other side of death. So, Jesus said – ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’.  

 

For anyone who wants to read what Jesus said for themselves, read the Gospel of John, chapter 14.