HOME!

Anticipating a return from Scotland in the summer, I’ve commenced moving-related endeavors. One of the crucial components of this resettlement to the U.S. is, of course, finding a place to call home. So, during this current trip to Dallas, under the skillful and resourceful guidance of my good friend and real-estate agent Jeff (the other good-looking guy in the picture), I started looking around. Together we scrutinized a dozen homes in the Dallas area. Again. You see, when I first moved to Dallas from Boston in 1999, Jeff and I went through the same operations at that time. Here we were again. I was searching for home.

Peripatetic as I am—the U.K. is the fourth country, and Europe the third continent, I’ve lived in—it seems, on my part, a perpetual undertaking, this quest for home. Indeed, this is not far from being the quest of every believer, one who has been adopted into God’s family at the point when faith was placed in Jesus Christ as Savior from sin. The Bible makes it clear that “this world is not my home, I’m just a-passin’ thro’.”

For our citizenship is in heaven,
from which also
we eagerly wait for a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3:20

Therefore, this quest for home will always be unsuccessful on this side of eternity. Here, temporarily situated on earth, we are what Peter calls “resident aliens”. He begins his first letter …

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who reside as aliens,
scattered throughout
Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia, and Bithynia,
[and Dallas, and Aberdeen,
and Trivandrum, and Kuwait, …]
who are chosen ….
1 Peter 1:1

We are chosen to belong to a new kingdom, part of a new race of the elect.

For He rescued us
from the domain of darkness,
and transferred us
to the kingdom
of His beloved Son.
Colossians 1:13

And this quest for home will find fulfillment only with the reception of that city to which we already belong, in which we are already participants.

So then you are
no longer strangers and aliens,
but you are fellow citizens
with the saints,
and are of God's household.
Ephesians 2:19

Already citizens and members of the household of God, but not in possession of our land, nor our home … yet. The pilgrimage continues; the quest proceeds.

By faith Abraham,
when he was called,
obeyed by going out …
for he was looking
for the city
which has foundations,
whose architect
and builder is God.
Hebrews 11:8, 10

That quest for the eternal home arises so strongly, beckons so irresistibly, and influences so completely, that even in this phase of temporary earthly life, David, the Psalmist, would rather live in God’s abode, God’s home, in the presence of God.

O Lord,
I love the habitation
of Your house
And the place
where Your glory dwells.
One thing I have asked
from the Lord …:
That I may dwell
in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life.
Psalm 26:8; 27:4

Until, one day, when believers get to that blessed home where …

… there will no longer
be any death;
there will no longer
be any mourning,
or crying, or pain ….
Revelation 21:4

And while we pursue this home, remaining as we do in this already-but-not-yet interregnum, Paul lays down a charge.

Therefore we also have
as our ambition,
whether at home
or absent,
to be pleasing to Him.
2 Corinthians 5:9

May we home-seekers, do so—live lives pleasing to Him.

When he comes, our glorious King,
All his ransomed home to bring,
Then anew this song we'll sing:
Hallelujah! what a Saviour!
Philip P. Bliss (1875)

BLOOD!

I had black pudding at a restaurant here in Aberdeen the other day. A sausage … made with blood! Congealed fresh pork blood. Boiled in casings. Then fried. A British delicacy, particularly with breakfast. But not unknown in the rest of the world: blatwurst in Germany, boudin noir in Cajun country, morcilla in the Spanish-speaking world, blood tofu in the Far East. And ancient enough to have merited a mention in Homer’s Odyssey (ca. 8th century B.C.E.).

Blood sausage! Does that make you grimace?

But blood is an amazing liquid. You have at least 5+ litres of the good stuff, holding 300 million RBCs per drop. They do an incredible lap of 12,000 miles a day (= 4 times coast to coast across the U.S.) delivering oxygen and nutrients to the body and exchanging wastes and carbon dioxide. The stuff of life. Literally. A loss of it can kill you. So can a myriad of hematological diseases—underproduction, overproduction, failure to clot, inappropriate clotting, malignancies, genetic abnormalities. The fluid of life.

The Bible agrees:

For the life of the flesh
is in the blood …
Leviticus 17:11

However there is more to this assertion. The rest of the verse goes on to say …

… it is the blood
by reason of the life
that makes atonement.
Leviticus 17:11

What’s this stuff about atonement?

You see, the problem with me, and you, and the rest of the world is sin! Sin is intrinsic to the human condition. Sin creates a barrier between humanity and deity. There can be no communion between the two; darkness and light cannot co-exist. And the ultimate consequence of sin is dreadful one, indeed—eternal separation from God who is infinitely holy. Unless … the price of sin is paid and sin is atoned for.

That’s where the hematological motif in the Bible comes into play.

… without shedding of blood
there is no forgiveness.
Hebrews 9:22

In His abundant mercy and awesome love, God opened a way for mankind to enjoy communion with Him, now and forever. He, Himself, Jesus Christ, would pay the price of sin. That’s what God did on the cross, bearing my sin and yours, paying for it with His life, in my place and yours. His blood shed to wash away our sins.

In Him we have redemption
through His blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of His grace,
which He lavished on us.
Ephesians 1:7–8

The moment one places one’s trust in Jesus Christ as one’s Savior from sin, believing that He died on the cross and rose again the third day—the payment made fully, finally, and forever—at that moment of faith, the slate is wiped clean. Sin is no longer an issue between the believer and God. Eternal life with God has begun! What a lavish grace—an undeserved, free gift! What a demonstration of God’s indescribable love!

For God so loved the world,
that He gave
His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish,
but have eternal life.
John 3:16

If you haven’t come to that decision, may I urge you to place your trust in Christ? The most important decision of your life now and life forever!

Have you been to Jesus
for the cleansing power?
Are you washed
in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting
in His grace this hour?
Are you washed
in the blood of the Lamb?
Elisha A. Hoffman (1878)

Oh, and the black pudding? It was alright.

SCALE!

Good friends of mine had their first baby last week. A hospital visit was due, to pay my respects to the proud couple and to the new arrival. Not knowing my way around this place or where the Maternity Hospital was located, I decided to go with Peter, headed to the same place for the same purpose.

Peter suggested I meet him at his place 30 min before the end of visiting hours at the newborn wing. I was surprised. We meet to go to another place just half-an-hour before closing time?

Now you must remember I hail from the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex. A megapolis extending about 10,000 sq. miles, packed with 6 million of the country’s best denizens, the fifth largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Where any trip, to any place, at any time, for any reason, by any mode of transportation, takes at least two hours! A good 50% of one’s life there is spent sitting on Interstate 635, affectionately known to natives as “LBJ”, a.k.a. “the world’s largest parking lot”. One could shave off a few percent of that time if one were to commandeer the other main artery, Highway 190, also endearingly named after a President— “George Bush” (the first, POTUS #41). Of course, by tracking this alternative trajectory, a good 50% of the average Texan’s income is spent appeasing the toll machines on “George Bush” that ruthlessly and relentlessly extract their sacrifices. Either way, you lose.

Aberdeen, Scotland (est. ca. 1179), on the other hand, is a different story altogether. 100 square miles. By population (about 200,000), somewhere in the 40s in rank among U.K. cities.

Even after having lived here over a year, the scale of things in this neighborhood hadn’t sunk into me yet. It takes only two minutes to get to any place, at any time, for any reason … walking! Incredible. Peter was right: it took us 42 seconds to get from his house to the hospital! (Of course, we did have to walk—alas!—50 yards from the car to the patient rooms, that took us another 78 seconds).

Two realms. Two scales. Two ways of thinking.

Likewise, it is often difficult for us earth-bound, temporally-tied beings to comprehend the difference in scale between the realm we occupy now and the one those who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior from sin will inhabit for eternity. The difference in scale between those two domains is infinite—inconceivable, incomprehensible, incredible! And believers can look forward eagerly to …

Things which eye has not seen
and ear has not heard,
and which have not
entered the heart of man,
all that God has prepared
for those who love Him.
1 Corinthians 2:9

Indeed, a taste of that eternal reality is ours even now—on a scale that is unthinkable, undreamable, unimaginable.

Paul prays that believers might …

… know the love of Christ
which surpasses knowledge ….
Ephesians 3:19

And that they might possess …

… the peace of God,
which surpasses all comprehension ….
Philippians 4:7

All on a different scale in a different time at a different place!

For momentary, light affliction
is producing for us
an eternal weight of glory
far beyond all comparison,
while we look not
at the things which are seen,
but at the things
which are not seen;
for the things which are seen
are temporal, but the things
which are not seen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:17–18

Keep looking! Eternity’s a-coming! And it’s out of this world!

KINGDOM!

Last week I was in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. While visiting a long-lost classmate of mine in Leeds, we made a pilgrimage to this quaint town a.k.a. Y Gelli (“The Grove,” in Welsh), the mecca for bibliophiles. Inundating the population of 1,864 are 30+ used bookstores. There are books everywhere—indoors, outdoors, and in every imaginable niche, nook, and cranny. Almost heaven! How this hamlet became the booktown of the U.K. is a story in itself.

A certain Richard George William Pitt Booth single-handedly exported the notion of a booktown in the 1960s. Soon thereafter, he purchased the ancient Norman castle in Hay-on-Wye (ca. 1200s). Not only did he set up shop—selling books, of course—in his castle and wherever else he could find room, this worthy also proclaimed himself ruler of the independent “kingdom” of Hay-on-Wye! To his credit, he is quite skeptical about his own monarchical status, employing his horse as his Prime Minister, and choosing to deploy a toilet-plunger in place of a royal scepter. He does, however, still sell cheap “peerages” to awestruck tourists. “Lord Kuruvilla” did sound appealing to me, but I passed on the golden opportunity. However, I did buy books from His Majesty Booth and the good man was kind enough to give me a discount. For his services towards tourism, in 2003 King B received an M.B.E. (Member of the Order of the British Empire)—the genuine article, granted by one, who alone, could bestow such honors, the British monarch, H.M. Elizabeth II by the Grace of God Queen of Britain and of her other Realms, Head of the Commonwealth of Nations, Defender of the Faith.

Not anyone, in other words, can appropriate or apportion crown, title, or nobility. QE II, herself, may be sovereign, by the grace of God, but there is only One who is directly appointed by God to reign over the world, over an eternal Kingdom—the One whose incarnation we just celebrated.

As the angel Gabriel announced to Mary …

“… you shall name Him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called
the Son of the Most High …
and His kingdom will have no end.”
Luke 1:31–33

This is the One of whom the Book of Revelation records …

And on His robe and on His thigh
He has a name written,
“King of kings, and Lord of lords.”
Revelation 19:16

The real King. King over all. And, besides, those of us who have placed our trust in Jesus Christ for salvation from sin are already in that glorious kingdom.

For He rescued us
from the domain of darkness,
and transferred us to the
kingdom of His beloved Son.
Colossians 1:13

Therefore we can, with keen anticipation, expect Christ’s coming earthly reign—the reign of the righteous King, the rightful King, the One who alone is King indeed, ruling over a peaceable kingdom. What a day that will be!

There will be no end
to the increase
of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it
with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
Isaiah 9:6–7

What an endless and unimaginable day of bliss! No more inequalities and injustices; no more unfairnesses and uncertainties; no more disappointments and dangers; no more inflictions and afflictions. The eternal realm of justice and righteousness! The reign of God Almighty! And it will be here soon. “Thy Kingdom come!”

Now to the King eternal,
immortal, invisible,
the only God,
be honor and glory
forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 1:17