In View of God's Mercy

Home. I love the sound of that word. It is amazing what emotions and feelings it can evoke. HOME means I am finally done traveling. HOME means warm and comfy and familiar. HOME means safety and security. HOME means its time to rest and refresh. HOME is just a really good place to be.

Home is a place but yet its not exactly what we think of in terms of places. You see, over the last year, home has grown and changed. I believe it is because God is working in my heart and life. He wants my home to change from the two-story white house with a red door at the end of the cul-de-sac in Derby Kansas, to a heavenly, eternal place: HIS PRESENCE. What has me pondering home once again? I guess its because I slept in my childhood bed last night, woke up and came down the familiar stairs to the kitchen. I used the old familiar coffee pot and sat down at the good old dining room table next to the french doors that give a magnificent view of the backyard I played in for so many years. Yes, its because I am HOME.

For any of you who have traveled, who have moved out of the house or out of the state and returned, you know what I am about to explain. No matter how familiar and comfortable home is when you return, the moment you walk out the door and engage in your once life.....well, you realize it's not the same. For some odd reason I thought life would stand still when I left; and when I returned, I expected everyone and everything to be just the way I left them. Honestly, that is pretty selfish and prideful of me. But, it is what I like to think.  If your anything like me, the first time it happened I kind of went into shock! lol

No, people don't stay the same. Cities don't stay the same. Roads, building and businesses don't stay the same. But, our GOD does stay the same. It has gotten easier every time that I come home. I realize that things don't stay the same. In fact, I am usually returning because someone is getting married, graduating, or a newborn has entered the family. For someone as....nostalgic as me, (I guess I really am a little Anne as mom always said) it really is hard to see all the changes and realize you have missed out on so much. It just causes me to ponder and realize some truths from Scripture that God has spoken over me time and time again as I have ventured out into ministry.

The first is somewhat of a recurring theme lately, even in my blogs. This world is not my home. Good grief, this phrase has rolled around over and over in my head causing havoc. If this world is not my home, than EVERYTHING changes. If this world is not my home, politics are just politics. If this world is not my home, there is no one place here that I can cling to. If this world is not my home, someone and something changes it should not phase me. If this world is not my home, I should never hesitate to move, or change positions or places. If this world is not my home, than everything I hold to for security, everything I depend on disintegrates. Does this mean I go through life hard and cold, not bonding with anyone, not caring about anything. ABSOLUTELY NOT! It rather means, I go through this world in wonder. It's honestly like a round the world trip with a cause or purpose. I am of course on a mission from my heavenly king. The king of my country has summoned me and commanded me to go into all the world and preach the gospel, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all His commands. I AM HIS. I AM FROM HIS KINGDOM. I SHALL RETURN WHEN HE COMES FOR ME. But for now, I am here. Yes, I am here on a mission but I am prone to wander.... How I pray that the Lord would continue to convict me and bring me back to His side.

"Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it

Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it

Seal it for Thy courts above" 

-Come Thou Fount

The second truth is found in 1 Kings 19. I love this passage! The call of Elisha is so powerful.... The moment Elijah's cloak covered Elisha, he KNEW! He knew he was not just covered he was called. He RAN after Elijah. Elijah asked him, "What have I done to you?" Elisha knew all too well. What a beautiful picture of what Christ has done for us. He COVERED US. No, he did not force us to come follow him but when we recognize his covering, accept it and KNOW his MERCY, as Romans says, how can we not RUN after Him. "Therefore, I URGE you, brothers, IN VIEW OF GOD'S MERCY, offer your bodies as a living sacrifices...." All I have I now count as rubbish. Elisha then went back and burned his plow, killed the oxen. He gave up his means of living. He gave up is possessions. He gave up his status. He gave up is livelihood. He gave up his family heritage. He gave up EVERYTHING. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even their own life--such a person cannot be my disciple." -Luke 14:26

It's a difficult thing...sometimes I'm not sure I understand it. But as each year goes by, I realize more and more that I no longer want what I used to want. I no longer want that little white house on a piece of land in the middle of no where. I no longer want a piece of land to pass down from generation to generation. I no longer want that legacy, that homestead. Does it sound nice when I sit down and think about it? Yes, sometimes.... Yet, I know something better. I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. I want Him above all else. There is something greater in store. This is just the beginning. There is so much more. It isn't easy keeping my focus heaven-bound. But, is is necessary and worth it. 

This world is not my home I'm just a-passin' through

My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door

And I can't feel at home in this world anymore