Holidays are a time of nostalgia, comparing times before with times present. Yesterday, we celebrated the founding of our country and the freedom that we gained from a government to which we no longer belonged. In forging our destiny, the Founding Fathers launched us into the future that we now know as the present. We have traveled a long way since 1776, but have not yet reached our final destination.

In Hebrews 11, we read of ancient people who had faith, not in what they could see, but in what they couldn’t see. They were still living by faith when they died, not having received the things that they were promised. In verse 13 we read, “…they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.”

We too are foreigners and strangers on the earth, “longing for a better country—a heavenly one.” A writer in Christianity Today quoted Freud that everyone needs two things to make life worth living: love and work. He then asks, “What love-work will we do in Heaven?”

The writer suggests that we will complete the love-works that we are commanded to do on earth: knowing and loving God, our neighbor, and ourself. It is our job description for life in both this world and the next, but the work is never done. In order to love we must know someone and then get to know them better. To love is to love endlessly.

This time on earth is our opportunity to prepare for an eternal destiny of infinite love. Jesus came in human form to show us what love looks like and we are commanded to “follow Him” and learn from his example.

As we look back in time, we must also look forward, longing for a better country—a heavenly one. As foreigners on earth, we can learn to sharpen our skills in loving God and others, making us ready for the heavenly home that God has prepared for us.

May each day on earth bring us more opportunities to practice loving God, our neighbors and ourselves.

Blessings, my friend,
Agatha