Dear Church,
“We are not home yet.”
The words popped into my mind as I sat with a family recently, hearts heavy and eyes wet with tears. Grief hung over the room like a heavy blanket. Maybe you’ve felt that weight too.
As followers of Jesus, we live holding two realities at once.
We know what is already true for those who have trusted Jesus:
You are declared righteous through Christ. (Romans 5)
Your sin has been paid in full. (2 Corinthians 5)
Sin no longer has the final word over your life. (Romans 6)
You have been born again. (John 3)
You are adopted into God’s family. (Ephesians 1)
You have been given a new identity. (1 Peter 2)
And yet we also know something else:
We are not home yet.
Our hearts still ache. Bodies still weaken. Relationships still break. We still grieve, still wrestle, still wait.
The recent Bible Recap readings through the Psalms have felt like a cold glass of water on a hot day. Some days, my heart naturally rises in praise. Other days, the Psalms seem to give words to things I could not articulate myself—the sorrow beneath the surface, the longing, the waiting.
And over and over again, the Psalms tell the same story: God has been faithful to His people. Again and again and again.
He is and will be faithful now, too.
Before Jesus left His disciples, He gave them a promise: He was preparing a place for them, and He would come again.
John later saw a glimpse of that coming reality:
“Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…” (Revelation 21:1)
A day is coming when faith becomes sight. A day when what is broken will finally be made whole. A day when the dwelling place of God will be fully with His people.
And as Revelation 21:4 reminds us:
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Church family, don’t settle too deeply into this world. Receive its joys with gratitude, love the people around you well, serve faithfully where God has placed you—but remember where your true home is.
We are not home yet. But we are walking toward home with confidence in the One who has never failed us.
Keep looking to Jesus.
With Joy,
Pastor Jonas
PS. If the weight of longing and grief is heavy on you today, give a listen to this message from Pastor Craig on Psalm 13.