Hymn Study - Heaven Is My Home

1. I'm but a stranger here,

Heaven is my home;

Earth is a desert drear,

Heaven is my home;

Danger and sorrow stand

Round me on every hand;

Heaven is my fatherland,

Heaven is my home.

2. What thou the tempest rage,

Heaven is my home;

Short is my pilgrimage,

Heaven is my home;

And time's wintry blast

Soon shall be over past;

I shall reach home at last,

Heaven is my home.

3. Therefore I murmur not,

Heaven is my home;

Whatever my earthly lot,

Heaven is my home;

And I shall surely stand

There at my Lord's right hand.

Heaven is my fatherland,

Heaven is my home.

Sometimes I feel as though the world is upside down. Maybe you do to. And who could blame us? Things that once were good are now considered evil or politically incorrect. The wisdom we were taught to seek out is called stupidity by the scholars of today. Things we taught were evil are now widely excepted. Our media craves violence and sex and vulgarity. We can't support our government without criticism. We are told not to trust our police. Recreational drugs are now becoming accepted, but just the "good" ones we are told. The Greatest Generation aren't considered great any more and this new generation is the worst yet. Even Disney movies are supposedly bad lessons for children nowadays.

Sometimes I feel the world is upside down and I turn to Christ for comfort. And He is more than happy to take that burden from me, He tells me so Himself in Matthew 11:29. But if I'm looking for assurance that the world isn't so bad, He has none to give. You see, this world is filled with sin. It will probably get worst before it gets better. But we have to remember this is not where we belong.

I think it's easy to forget Heaven is our home, or even so if we realize that Heaven is our home our life on Earth feels like a really great vacation at times. We can do whatever we want. We fall in love here, we're born to loving families here, we have families of our own. We create art and do fun things like play sports and make music. We have lovely holidays and fun parties. We do exciting things like surf or go on roller coasters. But everyone's had a down day. Some people go their entire lives seemingly without the blessings above. There are wars, poverty and disease. Some of these things affect even our blessed American lives. Sometimes life is downright not a fun vacation from Heaven and in that moment we have to remember, Heaven is our home.

I sometimes think about a situation where we have to suffer a bit before it can get better, those un-pleasantries that we have to deal with but we don't fret over. Think of like how you get an anaesthesia shot at the dentist. "You may feel a pinch," they say. We don't like getting shots, but seconds later we feel nothing and don't have to deal with a much worst pain. We don't like the shot, it hurts, but only for a second. Or think of going to school or work that last day before vacation. It may be a struggle for us to get through 8 hours but when the day is done, it's in the past and we're ready to enjoy our rest. Or have you ever taken a road trip and it's time to go home. I used to often have to drive down from the topmost part of Michigan to the Detroit area which is in the southeast of the state after a weekend trip. 4 hours on the road were more than enough time for me, and if we stopped for food I was looking at somewhere around a 5 to 6 hour trip. When I finally reached my house it felt like such a relief. I was off the road, I could now rest from my long day.

The first verse of the hymn paints Earth as a dangerous and saddening place. While danger isn't breathing down the back of our necks as much as others in the world we know that it can come in the form of an unexpected event. A thief, a car accident, an illness. Sorrow has escaped no one, even the most optimistic person has dealt with tragedy and felt grief. We do things to our own self to bring sorrow upon us. Earth is painted as a desert. There is no life in the desert. The second verse puts our chin up though. It says that we power through the things that tempt us. We continue on past the detours on our road to home. It let's us know that we only have to deal with this for a short time. Think of doing a tough exercise. Only 5 more you tell yourself. Just one more lap. It keeps you moving and it mentally minimalizes the effort you are putting forth. And finally at the end of the verse and into the third we are told that these dangers, sorrows and temptation are of no more threat to us. We are victorious in our journey and we are finally home.

That is why when we face adversity and the world seems upside down we should remind ourselves that Heaven is our home. When life is good we should remind ourselves that Heaven is our home as to not get lost in Earthly pleasures. When temptation is strong and sin gets the best of us, remind ourselves that Heaven is our home through forgiveness.