The Hope of Heaven

Every time I go through a major life transition (i.e. graduating high school, graduating college, etc.), I find myself thinking about Heaven a lot more. I think about the reality of Heaven, death, and how brief our time on earth is. I think about those dreadful, heartbreaking goodbyes to my friends and family I'll soon be having to say and how life changes in the blink of an eye.

In Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren states, "To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won't be here long, so don't get too attached." 

With graduation being ONE WEEK AWAY, that second truth has become much more real to me as I think about all of the changes that will soon be taking place (i.e. graduating, moving back home for the summer, moving to Los Angeles in the fall, saying goodbye to my friends and family, etc.) and I find myself overflowing with gratitude and peace. Change serves as a reminder that we will never be completely satisfied on earth because we are solely residents here. Our citizenship is in Heaven! No matter where we go, we are always going to experience heartache. We say hello to one person only to immediately turn around and say goodbye to another. Jobs are lost. Couples file for divorce. Friendships come to an end. In fact, there are very few things that stay the same. However, it is during change I am reminded of the hope we have of Heaven and how we will NEVER (ever, ever, ever) be fully satisfied here on earth because this is not our home! Until we see Jesus face-to-face, we will always long for more, and the hunger we have for more will not be fulfilled until we get to Heaven! 

This topic has been heavy on my heart lately and I felt the need to share because as I transition into the next chapter of my life, I find myself comforted by this promise. I pray you find yourself encouraged as you embrace the new adventures ahead of you. I pray that when everything around you is changing and your life feels unstable, you are reminded of the One who is always stable...the One whose love for us never changes! I pray that the changes you experience in life make you "homesick for Heaven" and that you delight in the fact that we'll never be fully satisfied on earth because we're not meant to be fully satisfied here! 

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." Philippians 3:20