All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on the earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. (Hebrews 11:13-14, NIV)
Newtown, Connecticut. We mourn, we grieve, we question: Why? How? Who? We talk with friends about the events. We point fingers. We question gun control laws. We question the violence of today’s society in media and video games. We question school safety. We look at the effects of broken homes. We look at the effects of God being removed from schools. We all know that this is not the way it is supposed to be. This is wrong, this is sad. Is this some mental illness that pills could have fixed? Why? Why, Lord? Children…children…what did they do to deserve this?
A whirlwind of thoughts consume us. The dust begins to settle. More information is provided. We read. We gain knowledge on the details of the massacre. We hear stories of the children that were killed. We find out who they were, what they liked, what their dreams were. We cry. We pull our children closer. We tell them we love them. We see the flags at half mast, and we remember.
No matter where we live on earth, we all want a country that is better. We do what we can to protect our kids from this terror. Community meetings. Restrictive laws. Educational programs. Mental health awareness.
Then we read Scripture: “People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.” What do these people of faith say? That this world is not it.
Here, things go wrong. Evil exists. We do what we can, but we ultimately resign ourselves: this world is not going to be perfect. Not even close. Our gaze turns up. Our heart yearns for heaven. Our hope turns from the horizontal to the vertical. “And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on the earth.” No, this is not our home. In creation was perfection; then, in the fall, sin welcomed evil on this earth.
Now, by faith, we have hope for a future country. Faith, hope and love. Yet only one of these is eternal. One day, faith and hope will be realized when we see Jesus face to face. The greatest of these is love. Love is eternal.
We fix our eyes on Christ. This is not our home. Come, Jesus. Our Rock and our Redeemer. Come.
—
Korky Kemp
December 19, 2012
Copyright 2012 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.