It is a sense of belonging somewhere else, to a different place and a different time. Being completely aware of our present surroundings yet yearning for another and though we have never been there we are drawn there. It is an anticipation for a destination sight unseen but one of confidant acceptance. How can we as Christians have such a desire to leave all that we know, all we have seen and all we have accomplished to journey on a path unknown, to a place not visited and guided by a longing that's unexplained? It is because the Spirit that dwells within us is from there, knows all that is there and not only that but longs to return there.
In John 17:25 Jesus speaks to the Father that His desire for us is to be with Him in heaven. It is His Spirit in us that draws us to Him to be where He is. The writer of Hebrews 11:10 declares that Abraham longed for that city whose builder and maker was God. In 13:14 the writer states that we have no lasting city here but we seek the one to come. In Romans 8:23 Paul writes that we who have received the Holy Spirit cry out for heaven, for the redemption of our bodies and our revealing as the sons of God. The spirit we have received is not of this world therefore it longs for another. He is the compelling desire in us to be where we have never been, to leave all we have ever known and to receive what we could never obtain.
It is as the Apostle Paul once said, "We see through a glass darkly" but yet we see clearly enough that what we leave behind cannot be compared to what awaits us on the other side. Longing for home. It is a hope inspired by divine desire, a love longing to be finally revealed and a faith that can carry us through the long journey. What we can only expect we will soon be experiencing, what now is only longing we will soon be living and what is only anticipation will soon be all consuming. So when you are saddened by your surroundings or depressed with the shallowness of this life, when you sense you're out of place and feel a tugging in your spirit it's alright. There's nothing wrong with you you're just restless and longing for home.
Michael
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