Our Forever Home
June 7, 2021 • by Hunter Beless
My husband and I are preparing for our seventh move in ten years of marriage. As I pull packing tape across the top of yet another box, I begin to feel a familiar ache. I’m homesick. I cannot wait for the day we are finally done moving—the day we unpack our last box and settle down in our forever home. This yearning has grown with each move, but I know it won’t be fully satisfied in our next house, even though we hope to plant our roots deeply there.
In our handful of transitions, I’ve learned that my desire for home will never be fulfilled in a physical location. In its current, broken state our world isn’t meant to be home to the people of God. But instead, by his grace, God uses every one of our moves and transitions to bring about his purposes, to make us look more like him, and to bring his kingdom to earth.
GOD USES TRANSITION TO BRING ABOUT HIS PURPOSE
God has been doing this from the very beginning, when he gave Adam and Eve the perfect home and told them to work, keep, and expand it throughout the earth (Gen. 1:28, 2:15). But the expansion of Eden seemingly halted after Eve broke the only house rule God gave them—not to take and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17). So, the newlyweds were evicted from their forever, perfect home, setting in motion a series of transitions that would forever mark the people of God.
Consider those who sojourned this land before us: Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, King David, the prophets, and the list goes on. All of redemptive history orients our gaze to the greatest transition of all time, when God himself took on human flesh, came down from heaven to earth, and dwelt with us! Jesus moved into this broken real estate, lived perfectly, died, rose, ascended into heaven, and is reigning and praying for us right now!
We can clearly see throughout the grand narrative of Scripture that God used each and every transition to bring about his glorious and eternal purposes.
““The Christian life is marked by transition and change. But more than that, the Christian life is marked by the Spirit of God who changes us as we walk through the various seasons and challenges of life.””
GOD USES TRANSITION TO PREPARE US FOR ETERNITY
Whether it’s a cross-country move, a new season of life, or parting with someone you love, the Christian life is marked by transition and change. But more than that, the Christian life is marked by the Spirit of God who changes us as we walk through the various seasons and challenges of life. God uses it all to prepare us for eternity.
Paul says it this way, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:16-18).
If we are in Christ, we lean into transition knowing God will use every move and hardship we face to complete the good work he began in us (Phil. 1:6). This particular transition—being made to look more and more like Jesus—is a painful process. Scripture references it as groaning (2 Cor. 5:4, Rom. 8:23), but even while we ache, awaiting the full restoration of our bodies and this world, we also rest knowing God hasn’t left us alone. His Spirit resides in us, sanctifies us, and enables us to courageously face whatever transition he sets before us (2 Cor. 5:5).
““God uses our transitions to redeem and to accomplish his mission.””
GOD USES OUR TRANSITIONS TO BUILD HIS KINGDOM
Our recent move from Texas to New England was the most intimidating relocation to date. Coming from the deep south where y’all is the preferred pronoun and BBQ means smoked meat (not burgers), I knew I was going to be out of place. I heard New England was the “new missionary frontier,” which both excited and terrified me. How would I, as a Bible belt transplant, winsomely communicate the gospel to people in this postmodern context? To my delight, I saw firsthand that the message of reconciliation is the same in New Hampshire as it was in Texas: be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:20).
While God used this major transition to mature me, to uproot my sin, and to reveal my need for Jesus, he also allowed me to participate in the expansion of his Kingdom! I’m reminded of Paul’s words to the Corinthian church, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20). By his grace, God uses our transitions to redeem and to accomplish his mission—the one he originally gave to Adam and Eve to go and expand the earth (Gen. 1:28). He is sending us out, placing us exactly where he knows he can best use us to build his Kingdom! Jesus offers us the New Testament version of the Genesis 1 command in the Great Commission,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).
As we weather seemingly constant transition on this side of eternity, we remember that God is working out his purposes in us and through us wherever he has us. We can lean into the newness and the difficulty, knowing that God is using those things to make us look more like him. We can rejoice as we consider how each transition might give us a greater opportunity to build his Kingdom here on earth. And no matter where he sends us, we can settle in, knowing our forever home is found in him.
Hunter Beless is passionate about helping women know and love God more, especially through His Word. She is the founder of Journeywomen, hosts the Journeywomen podcast, and loves doing ministry in her local church context. Hunter and her husband, Brooks, have three amazing kiddos. Follow her on Instagram.
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