A Better Country

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
-Alan Jackson

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country-a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God,

for he has prepared a city for them.

(Hebrews 11:13-17 NIV)

A longing that often surfaces in my heart during Advent is the ache for eternity—a longing for the place that Jesus has gone to prepare and promises to return one day and take us with Him forever.

Am I living in light of that promise, or have I started buying into the false hope of making a life for myself here on this earth. How do I live here as stranger, especially when everything here is so enticing and tangible and appears to offer a sense security?

I do not have any solid answers, except to kindle the longing by exposing myself to eternal venues like the Word of God, yielding to the indwelling Holy Spirit, taking time to listen and converse with the Eternal One and worship in spirit and truth through song and service. And most of all to encourage others to do the same by reminding us to turn our eyes upon JESUS!