Heaven is home

Martha Olawale

With the voices all around me, it’s easy to forget that my journey is beyond this world I’m fighting so hard to embellish with my life’s earned treasures. My faith is at the core of all that I am but the mere function of making it through each day without the pulls and shrugs of sin and immorality leaves me panting and gasping for breath. Am I created to wiggle through these narrow thorns and accept the prickling pain of seeing people move farther away from God or should the hurt lead me back to Calvary?

As Christians, we are compelled by the gravity of Christ’s suffering on the cross and the joy that comes from knowing Him, to devote our lives to the cause of Heaven—leading people to and not away from Christ. We can’t explain away wrong with innuendos, just to be applauded by the crowd. God loves people but hates sins (Isaiah 64:6) and regardless of how our emotions respond to it, God cannot be converted because He is perfect and Holy. He said of Himself in Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not.” He does not owe man any explanation, for He is sovereign.

We can’t wish away the tenets of our faith while declaring freedom, because true freedom comes from walking with God. Our example is perfected in Christ and our response should be brokenness for a world we know He died for. The Church should lead like Christ, extending grace but standing for righteousness.

Conformity to the dictates of men is not an option for survival because it ignores the echoes of Calvary, just to be accepted. If Jesus Himself told us in John 16:33 that we should expect tribulations in the world because our peace is in Him, why do we seek affirmation and approval from people we should be leading to Him and pointing to eternity? We are not part of the crowd, but Heaven’s advocate and our stance should mimic just that.

There is so much more beyond life’s last gasp of breath and how we live now determines where we spend it. I love this saying in my language, “Aye loja, orun nile,” which simply means, the world is a market place and Heaven is our home. No matter how long we live, there is an end-date to our time here and while God intends for us to maximize and cherish each waking moment, we must live conscious of eternity.

My soul longs for eternity with Christ, in Heaven, more than all the world can offer. Martha Olawale