Why you were made for a better world.

Lately, I’ve found myself thinking lots about the times we’re living in and it’s led me, strangely, to understand a little of why the early mothers and fathers of Christianity found such solace in thoughts of heaven.

I grew up in a very spiritual household; my parents were and still are leaders in the Pentecostal Church Movement. Growing up, they spoke about heaven lots; In church, in their social circles and at home, but I have to be honest; as a child, it always kind of felt a little far off for me. Like something that will happen in the distant future and not be necessarily something that I needed to be thinking about right now.

But recently, I’ve come to understand, especially because I wasn’t born in the place where I now call home, I have found myself at times longing for a “better country”, and the longing itself feeling so deep. Like a call back to the familiar, reminding me that I am made for a better world. And it’s easy to mistake this for a physiological need for belonging but I think it’s something deeper;

Like something deep in my soul reminding me that “should I suffer long, this is not my home, I know heaven waits for me*” I think that’s what the Bible means when it says that God has set eternity in the hearts of mankind (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

And this isn’t just a means of escapism but a call back to belonging set in us right at the very beginning. Like in the movie, Toy Story, where Woody constantly refers to Andy’s seal on his sole. No matter where he finds himself, that seal reminds him that he’s always been Andy’s; and that seal placed on him isn’t for Andy’s benefit, it’s for Woody. It’s what leads him back home when he’s lost his way.

So why am I sharing this?

Well if, like me, you’ve found yourself at odds with the way things are in your world and in the world around us and it’s making you homesick for better, I hope you find some comfort in the fact that you were made for a better world. And this dislodging that you may feel is supposed to be a little reminder that it hurts, because it was never meant to be this way.

And if you can, if only just for a moment, allow yourself to press into that discomfort- but let it lead you to thoughts of God, who created the world good and made you who you are.

Think about the fact that his reason for creating us originally was simply so that we can live with him forever in love and peace and tranquillity. And one of the reasons why the world we find ourselves in makes little sense right now is because, at the risk of over-emphasis, it was never meant to be this way; We were never supposed to liver apart from God and from the ones we love. We were made for eternity, where one day thee will be no more tears, no more suffering, no more separation from each other and from God. The kids

It was never meant to be this way; and one day, it won’t.

*From the song “As It Is”- by Hillsong- listen to it here.