Heavenly Country

May 24, 2013 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Our citizenship is in heaven. —Philippians 3:20

Bible in a Year:
1 Chronicles 22-24; John 8:28-59

During high school, my closest friend and I took a pair of horses out for an afternoon ride. We slowly roamed through fields of wildflowers and wooded groves. But when we nosed the horses in the direction of the barn, they took off toward home like twin rockets. Our equine friends knew that it was time for dinner and a good brushing, and they could hardly wait.
As Christians, our true home is heaven (Phil. 3:20). Yet sometimes our desires tether us to the here and now. We enjoy God’s good gifts—marriage, children, grandchildren, travel, careers, friends. At the same time, the Bible challenges us to focus on “things above” (Col. 3:1-2). Things above may include the unseen benefits of heaven: God’s enduring presence (Rev. 22:3-5), unending rest (Heb. 4:9), and an everlasting inheritance (1 Peter 1:4).
Recently I read, “Believers desire the heavenly inheritance; and the stronger the faith is, the more fervent [the desire].” Several Old Testament believers mentioned in Hebrews 11 had strong faith in God that enabled them to embrace His promises before receiving them (v.13). One such promise was heaven. If we too put our faith in God, He will give us a desire for that “heavenly country” (v.16) and will loosen our grip on this world.

When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory. —Hewitt

For the Christian, heaven is spelled H-O-M-E.