The reward of dwelling with God today!

 One of my favorite missionary stories is of Henry C. Morrison. Mr. & Mrs. Morrison were faithful missionaries who served the Lord in Africa for over 40 years. He recalls that emotional day when he and his wife boarded a ship on their way back to the United States. His mind flooded with memories of the wonderful experiences they had enjoyed on the mission field.

He began wondering what it would be like to return to his Midwestern hometown. “Will anyone there still remember us?”

Aboard that same ship that day with Henry and his wife was the President of the United States, Teddy

Roosevelt. He was returning from a big game hunting trip in Africa. When the ship pulled into the New York harbor there were thousands of people there to greet the arriving President. The crowds were cheering and the bands were playing. There were signs, banners and billboards everywhere saying, “Welcome Home” .

Mr. Morrison and his wife with their luggage in hand quietly made their way to the deck of the ship

to exit. No one had come to welcome them back home. There were no bands playing or banners flying in their honor. Henry Morrison went to his hotel room with a rather heavy heart. As he sat there on the bed, he asked his wife, “Honey, for 40 years we poured our lives into ministry and service. And yet we come back to America and not a single soul comes to welcome us home!”

His wife came and sat down next to her husband. She put her hand on his shoulder, and said to him,

“Henry, you have forgotten something, you’re not home yet!”

When we dwell with God in this life, we realize that we are not home yet. What great words those are! “We’re not home yet.” 1 Corinthians 3:16 states, “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?” As we suffering in this life, we can dwell with God and His spirit comforts us with the words that this is temporary...the best is yet to come. He reminds us that we are not home yet. We dwell with God today in knowing the best is yet to come....today is not about the here and now, but about the there and then.

You know I love ya, Don

Home!

While [the prodigal] was still far off, his father saw him and ... ran and put his arms around him. -Luke 15:20 (NRSV)

I long for home today. I love my home and I have a wonderful wife that makes our house a welcoming home. I was also raised with a mom that made our house a home. It is probably these women that have given me such a great sense of home. Yet today, I long for home...the place where Jesus is and the place where all things are made complete. James Harnish Writes:

A week from today my family will fly north and then drive two hours to a reunion with four generations of the Harnish clan. We'll drive past the farm where my dad's parents raised seven children. We'll visit the hillside cemetery where my mother's parents are buried. We'll worship in the church where I was baptized. Again and again, my daughters will patiently endure and laugh at the stories about my home life when I was a child.

Far too many people remember a different home life, one filled with fear, rejection, abuse, and pain. But the idea of home goes deeper than our individual experiences. Home is not so much a place as it is a longing. At its depths, the longing for home leads us to recognize our deep, spiritual homesickness for God.

One of Jesus' most familiar and loved parables is the story of two sons, one who went away and one who stayed home. Most of all, it's the story of our loving God who longs for each of us to come home. Our deep spiritual hungers are satisfied only by relationship with God, and we are all homeless without it. But like the father in Jesus' story, God watches for us and comes running to welcome us into that relationship the moment we turn toward it.

I think in our worship we get a small glimpse of what heaven and home is. It is a place that draws us back in return and desire. So, today I worship a great and mighty God that is preparing a place for me and I long to be there.

You know I love ya and I pray I will see you there too. Don