The Dream of Traveling
Excerpted from This World Is Not My Home by Dr. Sharon Ma, used with permission.
The most dreaded question you can ask an expat is Where are you from? The answer is invariably complicated and hard to answer. While I love my life in my adopted country, there are days when it doesn’t fully feel like home to me, even though we have raised a family here and have adapted to the culture. Yet when I return to my passport country, where I grew up, it doesn’t really feel like home either. People who have never lived outside of their passport country for an extended period of time may struggle to understand our feelings of not really having a home or place to belong. Yet we who are Christians can identify with this restlessness.
We know that we don’t fully belong in this world with its values and morals that are often in opposition to those we hold. We long for a place that is truly home. Jesus recognized the struggle we would face when He said in John 14:1-3:
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
John 14:1-3
Jesus knew that this world is not truly our home. We are ultimately bound for heaven if we have accepted His salvation and have walked in His way. Someday we will all leave this world behind.
It is the same with expat life. Unless the government where I live allows me long-term residency, I know that, someday, I will have to leave this country where I have lived for 20 years, where I worked, raised my children, and adopted many of their cultural habits. It is not where I will stay forever. I will have to move somewhere else. While I may not know where I will eventually retire, I know where I will go after I die. Paul says:
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3:20
This verse reminds us that while we may be far from our home countries as expats, our true citizenship is in heaven.
Perhaps you are reading this, and you don’t currently live overseas. Maybe you’ve never left your home country, or you’re an expat who has returned home. Whatever your situation, perhaps you recognize this feeling of not belonging, of feeling isolated and uncomfortable. Even if this is your situation, you are also far from your heavenly home.
Be encouraged. A sense of belonging to God’s family transcends all earthly borders.
Reflection
1. If someone asks you, “Where are you from?”, how would you answer? Is there a particular place, culture, or experience that has shaped who you are today?
2. Imagine you had to move to another country tomorrow. What are the three things you would absolutely bring with you to make the new place feel like home? Why?
3. How does knowing that your true home is with God change the way you view your identity, relationships, and life in this world?
Scripture Reading of the Week
John 14
Philippians 3:12–21
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