Thoughts on a Trip to Ontario Part 3: Just Visiting (Hebrews 13:14, 2 Corinthians 5:1-2)

Hebrews 13:14 (LB):

For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.

2 Corinthians 5:1-2 (CEV):

Our bodies are like tents that we live in here on earth. But when these tents are destroyed, we know that God will give each of us a place to live. These homes will not be buildings someone has made, but they are in heaven and will last forever. 2 While we are here on earth, we sigh because we want to live in that heavenly home.

It was interesting visiting Toronto, if only for a very little while. We saw the ROM. That was good. We weren’t there long. We didn’t get to see any friends – well Sarah-Grace did; she was prepared but the rest of us didn’t. It did remind me, like it has reminded me when we have visited other places we used to live – Winnipeg, Nipawin, Swift Current, Victoria, Vancouver – that things continue to change when we aren’t there and very quickly the people and places we used to know are not there. Toronto was where we lived just prior to here and already some of our friends have passed away; the two corps we led no longer exist; the buildings we used to worship in are not in use by the Army anymore and the Ministry Unit names do not even exist anymore – they have faded into memory and soon those memories will be gone to. Truthfully, the community of Regent Park, as it was, is now just a memory.

Just like Toronto is not our home anymore, this world is not our home for any of us really. Just like Susan and I are moved from one community to the next, we all here are just passing through this time and place. Our home is in heaven with our Lord and Saviour and one day He will return bringing our home with Him and there will be a whole new heavens and earth and even more than that: also our very bodies are not really our homes either – here and now they keep getting older! But one day the tent that is our body will be replaced we will have new bodies that no longer decay and age! This is certainly something to look forward to!

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