HOME

I Google Imaged "new heaven, new earth". This was my favorite image from the results I browsed because it contains all of the thoughts and visions I have about the end of the ages. It doesn't assume that a new Jerusalem will descend looking a particular way. I know John's Revelation gives us measurements, but I'm not too concerned with the details. We can recognize sky and earth in this image...but perhaps everything else will be so radically new that Google Image has yet to capture its awe.

I've been thinking a lot about home this week. I am returning home for a visit in two weeks, probably to find out that Arizona has become more of a home this year than I could have predicted. I will be home but also a visitor, borrowing cars and having sleepovers. I will see that life goes on without me and that I've grown much away from home.

Home is also on my mind because it strings together our readings for Sunday's worship. Paul is called to proclaim the gospel in Europe where he meets Lydia (Acts 16). God opens her heart and she invites the apostles to stay in her home. Through Christ, wherever they go, they have a place to belong. Jesus promises that God lives in those who love God, making a home - a sanctuary in our human bodies (John 14). Jesus is soon leaving to ascend, yet he is with us.

In Revelation 22 we hear that perfection is on its way. We will have no need for a temple created by human hands because the Lamb will be our temple. The gates will be open all the time and we will know darkness no more. There is healing and life. We will worship the Lamb with all of our might, beyond today's capabilities.

A new heaven and a new earth are on the way to give us a true home. It's not about the walls or the address or the seasonal decorations that make it feel festive. No locks, no security code. It's not a fixer-upper and you need not be concerned with the housing market.

Think of the places and people who have made you feel safe and beloved, holy and free. (Seriously.) Now know that Christ has set up shop in you - in the deep places of your love for him. He is there, providing a home for you wherever you go.

And when that new heaven and new earth descend, you will see the Lamb on the throne. You will marvel and give thanks and realize that the One who lived in you is now your home. Your perfect, sacred, eternal home. Maybe that's why the image is so blurry. The switch-a-roo, the deafening emotions, the promise fulfilled - the fantastic blur of finally being alive and truly home.