Your citizenship is in heaven. Do you eagerly await the day when sin, sorrow, sighing, and suffering are behind you? Is your heart set on home? When you face struggles here on earth, remember where you’re headed!
Let me tell you about bodacious Babe and Star the wonder dog!
Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada. Don’t panic! I have not lost my mind. Just let me explain: my husband’s friend, Jan Janura, has two wonderful yellow Labrador retrievers named Star and Babe. And these dogs are top-notch retrievers who absolutely love to go hunting with Jan and Ken. Show them a lake, and I’ll tell you what – these two take a diving leap. Throw them a Frisbee? They just can’t wait to catch it, they’re so excited. Let a bird cross their path, and it is ears up and at ’em. These dogs are serious retrievers. Not long ago, Ken was telling me about the recent hunting trip he went on with Jan. And as Jan and Ken were packing up there at the house – as soon as those two dogs saw the Jeep packed up with camping gear – oh my goodness, it was all they could do to restrain those two retrievers. Eager, happy dogs, they were! I mean, these two knew where they were going. They knew what they were going to do, and they could not wait to get where they knew they were heading. All the way up to the high desert where they went to a pheasant farm. All the way up the freeway, Babe and Star would whine from their cage in the back. And when they turned into that pheasant farm, those two dogs were rattling the cage. I mean, they recognized the fun ahead!
And friend, it is no mistake that God gives us animals as object lessons. I mean, everything God gives us points to some lesson, right? Some characteristic about the Lord, some special thing he wants to show us. With God, everything is a metaphor. Everything is a symbol of something more grand. And when God created Labrador retrievers, I think he must have been smiling. He gave us these beautiful, intelligent, willing, and happy dogs to show us, teach us, and remind us of all that we can learn from them. Because as eager as Star and Babe were to arrive at their destination, I’ve got to ask us. I ask, are we as eager to get where we are heading?
Philippians 3 tells us we’re citizens of heaven and, as such, we wait eagerly for a Savior from beyond this world. And I love that adverb, eagerly. I mean remember, the Holy Spirit when he inspired the writing of God's Word, had a good reason for every adjective and adverb, right? And that word eagerly tells us that because we’ve been given citizenship in heaven that is a huge thing. What a destination! And we should be so excited about the return of our Savior, that we’re straining at the leash, rattling the cage. And what do citizens of heaven do as we wait for his return? Why, we get ready for heaven! And how do you get ready? Well, heaven is a holy habitation prepared for holy people, so we be holy as Jesus is holy. It means laying aside, getting yourself free from every sin that hinders. Dumping old habits and starting new ones. That’s a good reminder as we look to a New Year, right?
I know that I am looking forward to that wonderful day. Being in this wheelchair for so long as I’ve been – well, I'm ready to trade in this old body for a brand new one. Better yet, I'm ready to trade in my heart for a new one. Can’t wait for that day when sin, sorrow, sighing and all suffering will be behind me. Now I know enough that, yes, there is still much work to do, and I am happy to be on earth for as long as God intends, but like Star and Babe my heart’s eager. My heart’s panting. And it’s why I love Philippians 3:20. I know where I'm going, and I can’t wait to get there. Heaven is really that wonderful; Jesus is really that awesome. So today, get eager!
© Joni and Friends