…I’m just a passing through.” Anyone else remember this song?
Some days it’s easier than others to remember the fleeting nature of our life here. We are sojourners on this earth with our eternal home being prepared for us.
The Jewish festival Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, reminds me of our temporary status. The festival celebrates God’s faithfulness and provision during the years of wandering before Israel entered the Promised Land. Our Jewish friends build temporary structures in order to remind them that their ancestors were once sojourners and foreigners. Feasting and acts of hospitality in these shelters display their gratitude. By minimizing distractions of wealth and material comforts, the focus is on God and the people around them. They are reminded of their reliance on God during difficult times, recognizing that growing trust developed their relationship with Him.
We, too, are pilgrims in a foreign land. The longing for our final destination is focused by hardship and loss. But as God cared for the Israelites in their trek, so He cares for us. I need to remember that this is not my home. He has a greater destination. He uses difficulty to grow my faith until He brings me home. My life here is for a season and my treasure is being stored where it can’t be destroyed. I want to live in the freedom of that truth.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:20
