Back then, we didn't have DVD players in the back seat to watch a movie or smart phones to play games on to keep the girls quiet and content on this road journey.
So on those trips, there was always one question that they would ask over and over again, "Are we there yet?"
I would imagine that now that they are grown up, married and have young children of their own, they can fully understand the plight their mother and I experienced on the road trips.
But in a way, we all still ask that question all the time. We may not vocalize it, but when you and I go through troubles in this life… and we sense that longing for heaven's touch deep down… we quietly ask, "Are we there yet?"
The Bible is clear that God has placed in the heart of every believer an eager anticipation for our heavenly home. God wants us to long for that day and to use that longing as a motivation to finish well in our short time here on earth.
I love how the apostle Paul describes these feelings of longing in Philippians 3:10-20 (New International Version). It reads:
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The day you and I, as believers, come face to face with Jesus in heaven will be glorious. There's great hope in what's to come if you know Jesus personally.
I attended a beautiful celebration life funeral service this week and that fact was brought forward by all who spoke. Death is the beginning of our new happiness, a reunion with those who have passed before us. A time to relish victory because we have arrived at the place we are seeking – heaven.
We should all rejoice when another believer passes on because they have ran their race here on this earthly soil and now is their time of rest and eternal contentment.
It's so important to remember that this life is a temporary stop. As the Scripture says in James 4:14, life "is… a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away."
It is also wise to recognize that while we are here on earth, God wants us to lean into him when things get tough. The Scripture is full of exhortations for believers to remain steadfast in the face of hard times. In fact, you are even told to "Count it all joy… when you meet trials of various kinds" in James 1:2.
Even though we may be going through a difficult situation where we're asking, "Are we there yet?", it is in these difficult times that we need to cling close to God and his promises.
The hope that we have is that our present sufferings are temporary and, as the Scripture says, "are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18). So whatever it is in our life that's making us long for home, it's my prayer that you will stay strong in Christ and finish well!
Do you know what the best part of those long road trips were? It was when the car would pull into the driveway of my in-laws home and I would stop the vehicle and say, "We're here!".
One day when we as a believer in Christ reach heaven, our heavenly Dad will look at us and say, "You're here!"
Until that day comes, push forward in sharing God with others and let us follow him passionately in every aspect of our lives.
The final destination is worth the wait, but take full advantages of the opportunities we all have each day to let our light shine and impact the lives of others by what we say and what we do.
Be blessed.
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