Heaven Is My Home

298 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 4:6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. (2 Tim 4:6) This may seem silly to some, but I want to spend another day on this passage and talk about Paul's “departure” which is at hand. The beauty of the original intent of the word “departure” is what has caught my attention. The word carries with it the idea of someone loosening the pegs on a tent as they prepare to break camp, or, if you like, the loosening of a ship's mooring, when weighing anchor. Most of us have experienced this camping or boating activity in our lifetime, but not many of us have associated it with the process of dying. What a beautiful picture of someone leaving God's good earth for heaven's shores, or letting go of the temporary abode, breaking camp and heading to one's true home! I think most of us have sat at the bedside of a dying loved one, telling them that it's okay to let go and go home. It's almost like they have been waiting for us to loosen the pegs or to cast off the lines that are holding them to earth. For Paul, this casting off of earthly lines was something he had been looking forward to for a long time. He knew he had work to do yet while he was on earth, but he longed for the better, namely to be in heaven with Christ: Php 1:23 For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. This loosening of the pegs comes to all of us, (death is our lot should the Lord tarry) and a great comfort for all of us is found in the classic hymn: “Heaven is My Home” “I'm but a stranger here, heaven is my home. Earth is a desert drear,  Heaven is my home; Danger and sorrow stand Round me on every hand; Heaven is my fatherland, Heaven is my home. What though the tempest rage, Heaven is my home; Short is my pilgrimage, Heaven is my home; And time’s wintry blast Soon shall be over past; I shall reach home at last, Heaven is my home. Therefore I murmur not, Heaven is my home; Whatever my earthly lot, Heaven is my home; And I shall surely stand  There at my Lord’s right hand. Heaven is my fatherland, Heaven is my home. I hope this picture of letting loose of the mooring lines, and loosening the tent pegs will help you at those times when you are saying goodbye to loved ones, or even a help for all of us as we near our own time of departure! For as Paul said, “to be with Christ is far better!”