Over the Rainbow

Over The Rainbow

“And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”  Hebrews 11:15-17

"There's no place like home." That's what Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" said when she returned to her home in Kansas after being in the land of Oz. The dream she had of a place "Over the Rainbow" was a scary but wonderful place, and after leaving home at the beginning of the story (as she hated being stuck there), she only wanted to return by the end. Her “Over the Rainbow” was not what she thought it would be, and it wasn’t home.  At the end she realized what she was missing, and longed for home once more.

I think we get Dorothy right now, though we're mostly stuck in our homes right now when we want to get out and back to our normal lives. The thing is, no matter what home is, no matter what we call 'normal,' we will always desire something better than what we have. Why? because we desire a better home. We are living in tents, temporary shelters meant only for a short time until we get to go home. That 'over the rainbow' for us will not be a dream, but real. We desire a heavenly home, and that makes everything in life temporary. 

That feeling, then, when we want our normal to return, is it really our normal that we’re longing for?  Do we just want to get back to the busyness of life, the endless repetition of our day-to-day tasks, or when all of this is over will we still long for something more?  If there is anything this time of isolation has taught us, it’s that the world, no matter what state it is in, is simply not enough for us. We don’t want to go home to our normal life.  We as Christians want something better still.

What should we take from this feeling?  Don't be discouraged. Don’t get comfortable with this life, as if there is nothing more on the other side of the rainbow. Remember this yearning within you is only a taste of what Heaven should inspire in us. Let's dream of the day we really do go home, and never look back again.

God bless you this week,

Michael