Permanent Home

By joannsblog2016 on October 31, 2024 • ( 2 )

“For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelations 7:17

Does Heaven and Hell exists? Such a trivial question to majority of people. How could someone not believe there is? Or do they believe it, yet don’t want to acknowledge it?

I recently lost my sister. She was a beautiful soul that loved beyond measure and could spark laughter in any room she entered. My sister struggled with a demon that I couldn’t understand. She was an addict. The addiction masked the love and laughter at times but the essence of who God created her was still present under all that this demon wanted us to see. She wanted freedom from the addiction and was working towards it.

Feeling loved and deserving was difficult for her. Acceptance always seemed out of her reach. She questioned God and she questioned faith. She sought to understand His promises and if they were meant for her. Her brokenness crippled her and the shame overcame her. Despite all that she carried within, she still loved like no one I knew.

The last time I spent time with her, her faith resembled that of a child’s. She read and she questioned. She sought to understand God’s Word and how it connected to her and life.

There was one thing she always seemed to question – His love and His presence.

My sister was found sitting on her sofa with a Bible in her hand. The first full verse on the first page was Joshua 24:15, “but for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” There is no doubt in my mind, she found peace as she passed from this life to the next.

As I read Revelations 7:17, I see this beautiful image of my sister being led to a spring of living water. As she reaches this spring her suffering is no longer and she is wrapped in the love of our Father, a love she sought but felt undeserving of. As she smiles, I know she has found acceptance and her questions have been answered.

While writing this blog, I heard the song “The Truth” by Megan Woods. This song speaks volumes of acceptance of who we really are underneath all the addictions, the lies, the messiness. As I listen, I can see Christ, the Good Shepherd, holding my sister, letting her know she is not an addict, she is a daughter of the Father.

I marvel in the beauty of our faith. We have this permanent home that is beautiful and life-giving. Heaven is for real and once we are there, why would we want to return to this temporary home? This gives us hope of something that this world could never offer us, something that is beyond our understanding of life. Take a moment to reflect on that beauty.