Scripture
Foxes have their holes and birds their roost; but the Son of Man has no where to lay His head.
~Matthew 8:20, REB
Quote
We all long for home; a place of security, comfort and love.
~Timothy Keller
When I read the above quote in my daily devotion, it sparked a multitude of thoughts in my mind. Certainly a home should be a place of security; a place where you know you are loved. How many children in America have a home where they feel this security? But the thought runs deeper than displaced and unloved children: we all or at least most of us long for a home of perfect security, comfort and love. We all have unfulfilled longing and we are not perfectly content in this world. We were made for a world without sin, death, violence, war and we were fashioned for perfect fellowship with our Creator. Adam and Eve were created for such a world. Adam walked and talked with God daily. He had no guilt, no fear, no headaches and no weeds in his garden. What changed everything? It was sin and because of what sin has done to the human race, I hate it!
Why do we kill millions of unborn infants annually? Sin! Why are there a half million displaced children in America? Sin! Why is alcohol the number one drug problem in America? Sin! Why does one out of every two marriages fail? Sin! Why do we have a drug epidemic? Sin! Why do we have hospitals and cancer treatment centers? Sin! Why do we have funeral homes and cemeteries? Sin! Do you still have some affinity for sin? There will come a day when you will get sick of sin. You will be like the Israelites in the wilderness when they craved meat: God gave them meet but it made them sick. We wanted our independence from God and so He allowed it but sooner or later our lustful appetite will lead to a deep sickness. Hopefully, we will come to the place where we are feed up with sin.
I know what you are thinking…what about Jack? Doesn’t he still sin? Everyday but it doesn’t mean that I like it; I loathe my sin much more than I loathe yours. I don’t even know your sin and I don’t know all of mine but I know enough to make me sick. I going to tell you something folks, THIS WORLD IS NOT MY HOME. This world can never give me what I long for most. Oh it is a beautiful world and it has many wonderful attractions but it is not my home. I’ve seen the Smoky Mountains, the Niagara Falls, Yellowstone and Pike’s Peak but folks this is not even a drop in the bucket: there are more wonders in this world than you and I will ever know, at least in our time on earth. We will not see the real beauty of this world until we reach the next or so I believe.
Our new word for the day is ‘diffidence’. I remember it from Pilgrims Progress but could not remember the meaning. I have found in twice in reading the REB. Diffidence is modesty or shyness resulting from a lack of self-confidence. I may have already mentioned this one, ‘guffaws’ which is a loud boisterous laugh. It is pronounced ‘goof-off.’ {JK}
If you hate extreme weather, do not look at the long range forecast; it going to be 82 on Thanksgiving day. A bit of hyperbole there–sure enough they are giving 98 for next Monday, the last day of the month and 97 on October 1. It is dryer than a powder keg at 1120 Iron Man.