A Heavenly Residence

Our citizenship is in heaven, says our title passage; yet we’re called to live out our time here as foreigners [1 Peter 1:17]. We are not yet home! Does this verse incite within you a deep longing for your heavenly abode, promised by our God to those who love Him and trust in Jesus’ name? Does your heart experience a fresh renewal at the thought of that imperishable and undefiled inheritance which the Spirit says awaits the children of God? (See 1 Peter 1:4) How do these scriptural realities serve to motivate us to live Christ-focused lives here and now?

Well, everything that our faithful God has revealed in His Word keeps our hearts from becoming overwhelmed by all the potentially disheartening and bleak happenings that characterize this world. Sure, we have moments of jubilation and happiness that we experience here in our lifetimes; but, admittedly, they can seem a bit fleeting. We’re not enjoying the pleasant times too long before we learn of some new tragedy or sad news story about something in our community, around the globe, or even closer to home.

Oh, but there is great news, Christ followers, to be daily retained in the hearts of God’s people: we cannot be too happy here because, truthfully, we are not supposed to be happy here! We were not made for this world, as writer Max Lucado put it in When God Whispers Your Name. We are reminded of this truth throughout the Holy Scriptures. Check it out in John 14:2, which reveals that the God of the universe has prepared a heavenly residence for us who know Him. We who trust in Christ live in the incomparably sweet anticipation of an inheritance that is literally out of this world, says 2 Corinthians 5:1. Meditate on these truths often!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, for the blessed hope presented throughout Your Word to the believing heart, we owe you eternal love and obedience. Thank You and AMEN!
By Sis. Denise Diggs