Scripture Challenge 2010: Home

This morning, I had the dreaded job of cleaning our master bathroom. Like many newer homes, our bath has a really large spa tub that everyone wants but never uses, and a teeny shower that gets used every day. In order to clean it, I have to step inside for a full immersion baptism of water and Lysol. It's a wet and smelly job.

I was halfway through the scrubbing when Sam came upstairs to tell me "Mom, there are people at the door."

Oh no! I threw on my bathrobe, dried my hands, and went to the door.

My lab, Maggie, was barking her fool head off. I couldn't be sure if she wanted to greet the visitors with a wet kiss or a lunge to the jugular. I opened the door a slice, holding the dog by her pretty pink collar, and there they were...

...two people, a man and a woman in their Sunday best, holding "literature".

The gentleman asked "Do you believe that all good people go to heaven?"

"No," I answered. "I believe that all people who believe that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior will go to heaven."

This, apparently, was not the answer he had hoped for, as he began to explain how the righteous will live on earth forever.

At this point, I struggled. Do I debate theology in my pajamas, reeking of Lysol, or do I fight the good fight with soap scum?

I confess...I took the "literature", said "Have a nice day!", and went back to my scrubbing.

I'll admit it...I don't have a lot of patience with people who don't know where their home is.

During the summer of 2007, I was living in St. Louis and calling home every day. My father was dying of cancer, and his health was rapidly failing. I spoke with my sister, Tina, one day to ask her...

...is it time to come home?

Tina told me what the hospice nurse had told her. Patients who do not know where they are going after death are fearful and tend to linger for a prolonged period of time.

"Your father knows where he is going, and he will not linger long," she said.

She was so right. My father went to his home before I could get home to say goodbye. He was in a hurry to get where he was going, and where he was going was "home".

And like my father, I know without a doubt where I am going one day. My home is in heaven. It is a big house with many rooms, and Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a place for me.

I have a Father who loves me so much that He wants me to spend eternity with Him, in His house. He would never leave me to an eternity spent here on earth, away from Him, ceaselessly scrubbing toilets and spraying away shower scum. NO! He delights in me!

Jesus said "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own, they belong to the Father who sent me." John 14:23-24

Jesus will call me home one day, and I will see my Fathers face to face. When that day comes, I will not linger. I will hurry home.

"No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Til He returns or calls me HOME
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand!

from the modern hymn by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend