We're not home yet...

In the past couple of weeks, God has reminded me yet again, that I am not home yet. Sometimes we get so attached to our lives on this earth, that we forget our time here is really just on loan, and that one day, our Lord and Savior will call us to where our real home is. In the past two weeks, I have attended four funerals. three of the deaths were expected, but hard none-the-less, and one of them was out of the blue. One of my friends lost his mom (grandma really, but she raised him since he was one) to cancer. Another lost her brother in an unexpected moment. He left behind his wife, and a nine year old son.

Here in Nicaragua, when someone dies, they hold what is called a "vela". The word velar in Spanish basically means to keep watch at night. So, the night that someone passes away, all of the friends and family meet at the home of the family to watch over the body and keep each other company throughout the night, while eating and drinking a hefty supply of bread and coffee. The following day, they hold the funeral procession which includes walking through the streets of town to arrive at the cemetery.

We spend a lot of our time and energy trying to make ourselves comfortable here on earth. We have great houses and clothes and food. Sometimes we even plan for when we die by preparing a will, and working to leave our kids a little bit of money. I am not saying these things are not important. They are. To some extent. But how much of our energy do we spend preparing our hearts to meet our Maker? How much energy do we put into our spiritual well-being? In Philippians, Paul says that to live is Christ, but to die is gain. and in 2 Corinthians he says that we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly body.

Some of the people that were buried this week loved the Lord. They had accepted Him as their only hope and Savior. Their family, although struggling with the sadness and loss, can know that their loved ones are at peace. But what happens when we don't prepare ourselves? What happens when we live our lives like we are already at home. We're not. We're strangers here, wanderers on this earth, and one day, we'll be called out of this temporary place, and for those of us who know Christ, we'll be gathered with him in the clouds and we'll say... "now THIS is home."

*If you want to talk about what it means to accept Christ as your Savior, and what I mean when I say to live is Christ and to die is gain, send me an email at karebear@str8way.com