Growing up in two countries made the word home an unsettling concept for me. Was home Istanbul, where I went to school, made friends and enjoyed family holidays? Or was it Australia, where kids at my new school jested in the now familiar Aussie ‘put-down’ humour, leading me to believe that Aussie kids were unkind?
That last idea was my thought in the year 2000 when I was twelve, and I was beginning my journey to enjoy living in Australia, which at that time was unfamiliar to me. I had hoped my new life would be exciting, but it was somewhat of a disappointment. Many years later, I like living here, especially as I become increasingly familiar with my local community in Melbourne.
But where is home? What place now gives me that sense of ultimate belonging, stability and family?
To be honest, I feel like my home is not in Turkey, Australia, or anywhere else on this planet. I feel in my heart that my home is in Heaven.
Heaven is where I will meet my dearest king Jesus face to face and hang out with him, lying on the grass together like I imagined as a teenager. I will have a new “forever body” and be free of the weight of my past and present mistakes, which so easily entangle my life. The mechanics of Heaven have many unknowns for me, but they are mostly irrelevant, because my heart yearns for the day when the tears and the pain happen no longer, and I am who I truly am.
A few years ago, I came up with this thought of where I will be in distant times: Imagine where I will be one year from now: hopefully in the same job, with maybe some new friends, and showing a little more grey hair. Where will I be in 20 years from now? Hopefully I will have a couple of children, and all our needs met and be communing more deeply with Jesus my lord.
But where will I be in 200 years from now? Unless medical treatments and technology advance at a super-fast rate in my lifetime, I will be dead…
… But alive! More alive than I have ever been. Experiencing and giving true love with my creator and my Christian family.
That moment is real. Heaven will be my daily reality. Just as I am sitting here now, at this kitchen table, with my glass of water next to me, and the heater on, in 200 years from now (and 10,000 – as John Newton reminds us in Amazing Grace), Heaven with Jesus will be the reality.
I hope some of you have read this far, and I would like to thank you for that. Another of my heart’s longings is for people to connect with Jesus Christ. I want them to understand what he has done for every person, growing to know his unconditional love and quiet companionship. I want them to know what it is like to be in his flawed but forgiven family. Have a think, even for a minute – or a month. Because if I will be dead in 200 years, so will you, and that day could be tomorrow. The Bible is a historical document and can be verified and trusted. I hope you can experience the wonders of Heaven with me and Jesus.
Where is home for you?
Jonathan Paper 