By the time this is published, we have broken ground on our new house. We met with the builder and finalized the plans. A designer, who works with the builder, provided guidance as we selected flooring, cabinets, backsplashes, lights and more. We anticipate watching the walls go up and our home taking on our personality.
I find it easy to look forward in hope. I have visuals that confirm my hope, and the builder has given me an end date that affirms my hope. My hope is like a blazing fire.
When my sweet Pastor husband and I put our previous house on the market, building a new home was just a faint possibility. We talked about building a house. Consequently, I spent too much time searching out house plans on Pinterest and dreaming about what could be. At that point, my hope only smoldered.
I knew there was a possibility, but I couldn’t count on it as a guarantee. The idea of building a house wasn’t fully realized. I was dreaming, but I wouldn’t have said there was confident hope.
I think the world lives with a smolder of hope. Our culture thrives on colossal dreams and imagining magnificent possibilities. However, there is no guarantee. People aim for their fantasies and then live crushed when their dreams don’t come to fruition.
Blazing Hope
As believers in Jesus Christ, we are to live with blazing hope. Our salvation and eternity are guaranteed. We are called to exist within the freedom of a bold and confident faith. Somehow, despite God’s assurances, we get confused over what our hope really is.
We read First Corinthians 12:8 where Paul tells us “…every good and perfect gift is from above,” and we imagine a better wardrobe, or a nicer car. When we read Jeremiah 29, we interpret God’s plans for a future to mean we will be able to pay our bills and live with greater financial resources. As we contemplate John 16:11 where Jesus tells us His joy will be in us, and our joy will be complete, we conclude we will reach a point of ecstatic happiness that won’t end.
We try to fit the hope scripture talks about into the confines of this world.
Looking Forward to a Home
“For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.”
Hebrews 13:14 NLT
This verse has become clearer to me since moving out to the Farmhouse. The Farmhouse is a wonderful place to live, temporarily. I don’t call the Farmhouse my home; the Farmhouse is where I reside as I look forward to my new house.
While my sweet Pastor husband and I rent the Farmhouse, we plan for and dream about our new home. We envision what it will be like. We discuss storage issues, and where to place furniture. I imagine having people over and what our home will look like with all our friends gathered inside.
Living in a Place Not Home
However, until our new home is a reality, we inhabit the Farmhouse. We cook meals, sleep, pay our bills, get ready for work, host our small group, play games, clean, and do laundry. My sweet Pastor husband and I don’t just crash at the Farmhouse. For the time being, we live there.
My sweet Pastor husband and I haven’t put life on hold while we live on Gem Avenue. We know life is still meant to be enjoyed. In addition, we must still delight in the relationships of our family and friends.
We also know we must manage the Farmhouse well, even though it is not our home. We won’t dump all our finances and energy into improving the Farmhouse. Nevertheless, though our investment is somewhere else, the Farmhouse has been entrusted to us for a season. Therefore, we must care for it and honor those who allow us to dwell there.
Living Here, Hoping for Home
Do you see the parallels? As believers, we have a home being built for us. We are to plan for our eternal home, and dream about what it will be like. When we gather with other believers, we can discuss all we imagine it will be, being in the presence of God. This home is guaranteed, and that fills us with hope. Peter describes our eternal home as perfect; a priceless inheritance that is pure and undefiled.
“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance – an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.”
1 Peter 1:3-4 NLT
We live with the tension of imagining, dreaming about and planning for the hope Christ guarantees while we reside and manage our lives here. How do we dwell in two places at once?
Dwelling in Two Places at Once
Perspective
First, we must shift our perspective. We want to make everything about this life. I know one of my biggest struggles is desiring comfort. It’s easy to get caught up in crafting an enviable life here and forget our prize isn’t found in this world. We are just to manage this life on earth. The perfect life comes when we abide forever in the presence of God, the Father.
Conviction
Second, place your energy, focus and finances where hope is. This step is tough to balance. We must manage this life well and use the resources God has given us wisely. We base our decisions on the truth that this world is not our home, we are only living here temporarily. Therefore, we don’t invest all we have making this world perfectly comfortable for us; we invest in Christ’s eternal mission.
Live Well
Third, until we reach eternity, live well. God wants us to enjoy our surroundings and the world He created for us. In Genesis 2, we read God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden and gave him the task to tend and watch over the Garden (verse 15). We too must see where God has placed us and manage well whatever He blesses us with.
God told the Israelites in Jeremiah 29 when they were in exile to “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plan gardens and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children…work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile…” (Jeremiah 29:5-7) He encouraged them to live in the moment, not just wait for the better life promised.
Know God More
Lastly, get to know God more. We must stoke the fire of hope and keep it blazing. God wants to teach us all about Himself and the home He’s prepared for us. We have the privilege of learning about and imagining our new home with God Himself. We must always remember, God is the real prize, not anything we find in this life.
Hope Anchored
God promised He would send a Messiah, and Christmas reveals God guaranteeing His promise. He sent His son, Jesus Christ, in human form, to be the perfect holy sacrifice for our sins. Our hope is anchored in the truth that God Almighty provided our salvation and established the way for us to have an intimate relationship with our Creator.
Ignite your hope. Fan the flame and set hope blazing. Look forward to your guaranteed eternal residence. Rejoice in the assurance we are heirs of God’s promise. Celebrate and live here while setting your sights on what is yet to be. Hallelujah! Christ the Savior is born.
