I recently co-wrote a spoken word poem with Paul Gould. There is a line in this poem that says,
“I feel like there’s a home I haven’t found. My heart aches for something deeper, more profound.”
This line was inspired by an argument for the existence of God. It’s called the “argument from desire.” This desire is a deep, guttural, and profound longing of the human heart. It cannot be satisfied by anything in space or time. I believe all people experience it at some point in their lives. It’s an echo of transcendence . . . a memory of the way things should be . . . a longing for a home we have never visited. Have you experienced it?
Many movies, books, and TV shows stir this desire in us. The most powerful stories are the ones that echo our longing for transcendence. Our hearts are captured by tales where life matters, goodness wins, and there is something “more.” Augustine rightly said, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.” We desire to go home.
Jesus said to His disciples in John 14:2-6,
“There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.”
“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
Jesus is our Home, and the Way to that Home. Our outward flesh wastes away as our inward spirit longs to be with Him. We were created to seek God and find Him. The Home for our soul is not a place, but a person.
Think about it this way; heaven is heaven because of the presence of Jesus. Wherever Jesus is, those who love Him are complete.
At this point you might be thinking, “I believe all of this, but what does it mean for me now? How can this truth comfort me today?”
You (if you are a disciple of Jesus) are a part of the greatest cosmic event in the history of the universe! Since the beginning, God’s plan of redemption has been unfolding, and He’s been growing His eternal nation day by day. This will culminate when we gather as the multiethnic mass of disciples described in Revelation 7:9-10:
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
Jesus is gathering and preparing His people, and we are a part of this incredible story. God is accomplishing His will through your journey back to Him. Be encouraged by this! He is using the gifts He gave you and the situations He put before you for His glory. He is calling people back to Himself through you! There is beauty in the waiting and grace for us as we travel home.
There is an old Switchfoot song that captures all this perfectly. It’s called, “Where I Belong.”
Storms on the wasteland
Dark clouds on the plains again
We were born into the fight
But I’m not sentimental
This skin and bones is a rental
And no one makes it out alive
Until I die I’ll sing these songs
On the shores of Babylon
Still looking for a home
In a world where I belong
I love to read. Of course, being a professor helps. I get to read as part of my job. That’s good. But I also love to read for the sheer pleasure of it. When it comes to fiction, I love entering into secondary worlds and journeying along with the characters of the story. Often non-fiction reads like a good story too: life is life, story is story, and often the two kiss (a loose paraphrase of one of my favorite nonfiction stories of the year, All that is Sad is Untrue). (more…)
I love to read. It’s partly why I’m an academic today. What could be better than reading, writing, teaching, and learning every day? Reading books awakens me: to truth, goodness, and beauty. I try, each year, to read broadly. This year, I managed to read 47 books. I’ve been recording every book read in a book log for over 10 years now. Whenever I finish a book, I list the date finished, the title, author, and a one sentence summary of the book. As has become my custom, I offer to you my favorite reads of the past year in philosophy, apologetics and theology, fiction, and non-fiction. (more…)
2020 has been a year of change for my family. We moved in the middle of a pandemic from Texas to Florida. I started a new job as a professor of philosophy and the director of a new program in philosophy at Palm Beach Atlantic University. We left behind two of our children in Texas–both college students at Baylor. Our younger two sons have had to endure an on-again/off-again year at a new school. But there have been many constants, even in the midst of change. Family. Jesus. And the reading of books! And this blog post. (more…)
I love to read. Of course, being a professor helps. I get to read as part of my job. That’s good. But I also love to read for the sheer pleasure of it. When it comes to fiction, I love entering into secondary worlds and journeying along with the characters of the story. Often non-fiction reads like a good story too: life is life, story is story, and often the two kiss (a loose paraphrase of one of my favorite nonfiction stories of the year, All that is Sad is Untrue). (more…)
I love to read. It’s partly why I’m an academic today. What could be better than reading, writing, teaching, and learning every day? Reading books awakens me: to truth, goodness, and beauty. I try, each year, to read broadly. This year, I managed to read 47 books. I’ve been recording every book read in a book log for over 10 years now. Whenever I finish a book, I list the date finished, the title, author, and a one sentence summary of the book. As has become my custom, I offer to you my favorite reads of the past year in philosophy, apologetics and theology, fiction, and non-fiction. (more…)
2020 has been a year of change for my family. We moved in the middle of a pandemic from Texas to Florida. I started a new job as a professor of philosophy and the director of a new program in philosophy at Palm Beach Atlantic University. We left behind two of our children in Texas–both college students at Baylor. Our younger two sons have had to endure an on-again/off-again year at a new school. But there have been many constants, even in the midst of change. Family. Jesus. And the reading of books! And this blog post. (more…)
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