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Philippians 3:20

"But our citizenship is in heaven."

I am in the middle of moving and, after handing over my work keys and my apartment keys, I am left with my car key only. I went from 6 keys to 1 key overnight. So this morning I threw my one poor little car key held on by my dumb oversized expensive monogrammed key chain into my bag and got depressed. Because to me it’s more about what the keys represent… home. And I know a lot of us have been in this place, or perhaps still are: the in between time when you’re juggling the past and the future, with no real sense of ‘place’ to call the present and feel settled. I heard someone say once that life is a balancing act of holding on and letting go, and I really believe this is true. It’s weird and sad and exciting all at the same time.

And ironically I have two passports. Those little books tell me (and the government) that I am a citizen of two countries. Awesome. I belong to two countries and I have no keys. But I have come to realize that this little gem of a verse in the letter to the Philippians is true and more real than the bricks and concrete of any house I will ever live in. And I am filled with peace and hope knowing that my true passport is a heaven one. I don’t belong here on earth because I am a citizen of heaven. We’ve heard it lots, but it’s true. I bet every one has an idea or image of what heaven is going to be like, but one undeniable thing we can all agree on is that it will be a home. We will finally, finally be home. The perfect home. It’s hard to know what home is when you’ve never really had one here on earth, but maybe think about the most belonged you’ve ever felt to a person. Or think about the most comfortable and “yourself” you have ever felt in certain place and time. Think about snuggling up at night to the person you love, or coming through the front door to your familiar surroundings after a long trip away, or tucking your baby into bed at night and watching them breath in and out, driving down the familiar streets of the suburb you grew up in and feeling totally content, or speaking on the phone for hours to the one person, your best friend, who really gets you. It’s about belonging and safety and peace and dreams and people you love and happiness. Home. And if you have ever, even for a moment, felt this feeling here on earth, I cannot even begin to imagine, let alone describe, the experience of living in heaven. I could cry thinking about it.

Before Jesus went back to heaven after He had done all that He had to do on earth for us (born in a manger, healed people, made best friends, got killed, came back to life, saved humanity…), He assured us that He would go and get heaven ready for us. He promised that He would build us mansions (AHH!!) so that one day we would be in the place where He is. And because I’m pretty sure the word mansion means the same in heaven as it means here on earth, I am confident that not only will you be the most perfect version of who you are, and feel the most at home you have ever felt, you will be living in the home of your dreams. So take heart, “keys” are overrated. You don’t belong to earth; you belong to heaven.
Selah.