C.S. Lewis wrote, “Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex.”3

So we all long for a home, but no one will be fully satisfied with any home or acceptance that is found on this earth. Even the best home cannot fill the gap of eternity because everything is fading away. So it does make sense that we are not truly home yet.

I’ve been meditating on 2 passages that point to this fact. Hebrews 11 is often called the “Hall of Faith” as it describes many of the Old Testament heroes who believed in God. It wasn’t that they were great, but rather, it was the God they were trusting in who is great. “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them”(Hebrews 11:13-16). Later, Hebrews 13:14 says, “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.”

Many times, the greatest gift we can receive is a life of hardship like these Hebrew Christians. When all is going well, we can subtly be tricked into believing that this is as good as it gets. However, we are lulled to sleep and complacency when so much more is offered. When we are shaken to the core and things do not go our way, let it be a reminder that you are not yet home and this should not be a surprise to us. Our best life is not now, but our best life is to come. Let us continually look to the author and perfecter of our faith and hold fast to believing that His ways are always right and best. He is worthy of all trust and praise!

However, as we look at the Scriptures, we see that our calling is to be intentionally intrusive in each others lives.

Galatians 6:1-6 is just one passage that teaches this idea. Paul writes, “1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load. 6Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.”

I have a dream about our body of believers growing together in what it means to live in a gospel-saturated way. This will look messy. This will be hard. But at the end of the day, I want people seeing me everyday, probing my heart and challenging me to look to Christ. Without this, I know that I will be spiritually lazy. Without this, I know I will be prone to believe lies. Without this, I am at risk of seeking pleasure in some lesser love and missing out on the wonders of walking in an intimate relationship with Christ.

What would this look like for you?

I had the privilege of preaching and doing some training at Sojourn Huntsville in Alabama last weekend. Like Sojourn in Louisville, KY, they are an Acts 29 church plant. They are seeking to reach out to the city through living lives that are impacted by the gospel. The sermon that you see above is based on four “one another” passages. As we really do life together, the world should see something that is amazing and puzzling – a group of people who have been so captured by the love of God that they love each other, reconcile with each other, serve each other, and fight for faith together. As the world sees this, they will be drawn to the God who makes these things possible.