The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing-to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from-my country, the place where I ought to have been born. Do you think it all meant nothing, all the longing? The longing for home? For indeed it now feels not like going, but like going back.
C S Lewis, author-“Till We Have Faces”
The pungent yet sweet scent of dry leaves fills the air as I my feet crunch along the multicolored path. Splashes of yellow, red, and orange brighten the landscape with a dash of evergreen thrown in for contrast. Below the trail, water tumbles over quartzite boulders. It’s roar fades as the terrain steepens. Upward we climb, up the mountainside toward the peak.
We’re nearly halfway and the urge to turn around hits me. What was I thinking? Whenever the going gets tough, I question my abilities as well as my motivation. Why did I desire to climb this mountain in the first place?
But then through the trees I catch a glimpse of the top and a still, small voice whispers in my ear. I gave you the desire. Keep going. You’re almost there.
My partner in the journey pauses with me for a brief rest then onward we climb together. Only a few more steps and the vista opens before us. A patchwork quilt of autumn’s glow drapes the peaks and valleys with the sharp blue sky as a backdrop. I draw in a breath of fresh, crisp air. We made it. Is anything more beautiful than this?
Why, yes, the voice speaks once more. This is only a hint of your future. Keep longing for home. The best is yet to come.
In this place of sheer beauty, I feel a sense of nostalgia: this longing for home. Not the home of my birth but my true home-a heavenly place God set in my heart long before I was born.
Hebrews 11:13-16 Message Bible
Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. But they were after a far better country than that—heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them.
