Not My Home
Title: Not My Home
Subject: Israel; War in Israel
May God bless you this day ... to look toward home!
For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.
Ezekiel 36:24
There is an interesting connection between people and their land. Even in the U.S. where everyone seems to be from everywhere, there remains more than a casual interest in "where we've come from." People of all ages and walks of life immerse themselves in studying their heritage, learning more about their ancestors and the land of their fathers.
I can understand that. I have no "hometown" as such, but I've always wanted to know more about the lands and cultures of those who came before me. I'm predominantly Scottish and Cherokee, with a wee bit o'' Irish thrown in. Where I live is rich in the history of my Native American forefathers and in a few weeks I travel to Scotland to walk along the paths and among the hills as so many of the Graham Clan before me. And one day I hope to see Ireland, the home of the McLaughlins, another branch of my family tree.
This connection between people and a land represents a tie with a specific location so strong for some that they believe it identifies who they are. It isn''t simply a hometown or place they remember from their youth. For many, it's a land they've never known, a land they''ve only read about or heard described by their elders. And for some, the connection is there because the land came from the hand of God.
Such is the case in the Middle East today, especially concerning Israel and its surrounding, mostly hostile neighbors. The bombing, fighting and growing death count are the direct result of how these people feel about "their land". It isn't simply to have a country of their own. A nation established in any other part of the world would never be Israel. It would never be the land of the Patriarchs, where Abraham founded a new people that Isaac and Jacob raised. It would never be the land Moses brought his people to reclaim. And it would never be the land where Joshua led, David fought or Solomon ruled.
I have deep sympathy for the people of Israel. Their path has been one of great struggle in their search for peace. The hatred that has grown against them has brought the threat of death and destruction to every door throughout the world. And while I believe everyone who follows Christ Jesus must pay close attention to what happens in this land, there is another lesson here.
Whatever land we may claim or in which we may live and work...that land is not our home.
Jesus has gone on ahead to prepare the place for us, a place that is with Him, our true home. And He has promised to return to take us there. It does not lie in Israel or the Middle East. It does not lie in the hills of Scotland, the countryside of Ireland, or the Cherokee forest. It is not found in any land, on any continent, or in any sea of this world. It is a place beyond imagination built by the heart of God.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9
Be aware of what goes on in the world. Pray for our friends in Israel and the Middle East. Fight if you must for the freedom that only Christ brings. But do not worry about the land. This world is not home. Our home is already waiting for us, and one day we will hear the King say...
Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
Matthew 25:34
Take care and be God's,
Chuck
Ciloa ... Encouraging one another as long as it is called Today!
For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.
Ezekiel 36:24
There is an interesting connection between people and their land. Even in the U.S. where everyone seems to be from everywhere, there remains more than a casual interest in "where we've come from." People of all ages and walks of life immerse themselves in studying their heritage, learning more about their ancestors and the land of their fathers.
I can understand that. I have no "hometown" as such, but I've always wanted to know more about the lands and cultures of those who came before me. I'm predominantly Scottish and Cherokee, with a wee bit o'' Irish thrown in. Where I live is rich in the history of my Native American forefathers and in a few weeks I travel to Scotland to walk along the paths and among the hills as so many of the Graham Clan before me. And one day I hope to see Ireland, the home of the McLaughlins, another branch of my family tree.
This connection between people and a land represents a tie with a specific location so strong for some that they believe it identifies who they are. It isn''t simply a hometown or place they remember from their youth. For many, it's a land they've never known, a land they''ve only read about or heard described by their elders. And for some, the connection is there because the land came from the hand of God.
Such is the case in the Middle East today, especially concerning Israel and its surrounding, mostly hostile neighbors. The bombing, fighting and growing death count are the direct result of how these people feel about "their land". It isn't simply to have a country of their own. A nation established in any other part of the world would never be Israel. It would never be the land of the Patriarchs, where Abraham founded a new people that Isaac and Jacob raised. It would never be the land Moses brought his people to reclaim. And it would never be the land where Joshua led, David fought or Solomon ruled.
I have deep sympathy for the people of Israel. Their path has been one of great struggle in their search for peace. The hatred that has grown against them has brought the threat of death and destruction to every door throughout the world. And while I believe everyone who follows Christ Jesus must pay close attention to what happens in this land, there is another lesson here.
Whatever land we may claim or in which we may live and work...that land is not our home.
Jesus has gone on ahead to prepare the place for us, a place that is with Him, our true home. And He has promised to return to take us there. It does not lie in Israel or the Middle East. It does not lie in the hills of Scotland, the countryside of Ireland, or the Cherokee forest. It is not found in any land, on any continent, or in any sea of this world. It is a place beyond imagination built by the heart of God.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9
Be aware of what goes on in the world. Pray for our friends in Israel and the Middle East. Fight if you must for the freedom that only Christ brings. But do not worry about the land. This world is not home. Our home is already waiting for us, and one day we will hear the King say...
Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
Matthew 25:34
Take care and be God's,
Chuck
Ciloa ... Encouraging one another as long as it is called Today!
