G. K. Chesterton said that “men are homesick in their homes.” While most of us have more than adequate shelter, many of us still live with unfulfilled longings for home. You may long for home because you have moved around so much that you don’t really know where home is. You may live far away from your family and long to live near them. You may long for family you would want to live near. Some people live with a longing for a home in which they feel safe and loved.
Why are we homesick? Even though our longings for home may focus on what is less than ideal about where we live or whom we live with, deep down we are homesick because this is not our home. If you are a believer in Jesus, you are a citizen of heaven (Phil. 3:20). We live on earth, but “we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13).
Betsy Childs Howard is the author of Seasons of Waiting: Walking by Faith When Dreams Are Delayed and is an editor for the Gospel Coalition. Content taken from Seasons of Waiting by Betsy Childs Howard, ©2016. Scripture quotations within these excerpts are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187. www.crossway.org.
Annual & Monthly subscriptions available.
- Print & Digital Issues of CT magazine
- Complete access to every article on ChristianityToday.com
- Unlimited access to 65+ years of CT’s online archives
- Member-only special issues
- Learn more
Read These Next
- TrendingAmerican Christians Should Stand with Israel under AttackWhile we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
- From the MagazineWhat Kind of Man Is This?We’ve got little information on Jesus’ appearance and personality. But that’s the way God designed it.españolFrançais
- Editor's PickIn Secular UK, Evangelical Alliance Experiences Record GrowthLeader explains why the movement is seeing its biggest membership bump in 30 years and its mission for the years ahead.