Longing For Home

hile visiting with my mother in Arkansas, in one of our conversations she mentioned an incident that happened to her and family when she was a teenager. Her parents (Ma and Pa Boatenhammer) owned a 1926 (one ton) “Model T” Ford truck, and they decided to take a trip from northeast Arkansas to central Florida. Pa wanted to get a job picking oranges and to visit his brother and sister there.

So he built some sideboards (5 ft. high) for the truck and covered the top of them with a bed sheet. Therefore, with Ma in the cab by his side, and Momma, her older sister Inez, and a friend who joined them in the back under the sheet, they began their long journey toward Florida.

They did not face any major challenges until they reached a tall mountain in Georgia. This was a difficult mountain for all travelers to climb. For example, one man had to climb it with his “Model T” in reverse. Another man had two boys to walk behind his truck with two large rocks to put them behind the wheels should the truck stall. They all feared the possibility of losing control and rolling backward down the mountain.

However, Pa was finally able to overcome all challenges and arrived safely in Wauchula, Florida.

After spending some time there, Pa got his job picking oranges, and Momma and her sister Inez, got a job in a restaurant. For several weeks, all went well for this family, but there was still a longing in their hearts to return home. Therefore, they all loaded aboard the old “Model T” truck, and Pa pointed it toward Arkansas.

When arriving in Mississippi, they were told that due to a flood, all roads were closed, and would be closed for many days. What did Pa do? He put Ma and the girls on the train, and he got a job in Mississippi until the waters receded from the roads. During this time, there must have been a great longing in Pa’s heart to return home. Can you imagine the joy this family felt when Pa finally drove his truck into the yard of their home?

When it came time for Jesus to leave His apostles, He left in their hearts a longing for home. He said:

“In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

These apostles could not go with Him at this time because they had a mission to carry out on the earth. However, eventually they could go home! Jesus had purchased His church with His blood (Acts 20:28), and had provided a way for forgiveness of sins (John 1:29), but His disciples needed to spread this good news message to the world (Matthew 28:19,20; Mark 16:15). The message that they would deliver would give those who obeyed it, salvation and a longing for home.

Several years passed and John (one of the apostles) was old, and had been exiled on the Island of Cyprus. If he was lonely, it was not for long, because Jesus appeared in a glory that must have been beyond anything that John had ever seen. He had been with Jesus in His ministry, and had even seen the magnificent transfiguration on the mountain (Mark 9:2-8), but the awesome appearance of Jesus caused John to fall down at His feet as dead (Revelation 1:17).

However, Jesus comforted John and shortly began showing him a glimpse of glory and beauty of the promised eternal home, so that he, the seven churches of Asia, and others in centuries to come, could long for home.

As Christians today, are we longing for home to be with the Lord forever? (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Or, are we trying to hold on to this physical life that is as grass? (1 Peter 1:24).

Those who long for home will face difficult challenges to get there!

Paul longed for his “Crown of righteousness,” (2 Timothy 4:8).

David referred to his home with God when he wrote:

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever” (Psalms 23:6). —BBBristow