This summer God has taught me so much. One particular way He is doing this is by directing me to Jesus' life on earth. The first truth that God reminded me of is that Jesus, above anyone else, understands the feeling of homesickness.
[Jesus] "who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men."As a Christian, we live our lives in anticipation of living eternally with God in perfect bliss, away from the pain and heartache we face now. Jesus, on the other hand, existed to leave what we long for to come to what we hate. I can't imagine how that separation from God made Him feel. As a human, I am sure he felt deep, deep pangs of homesickness, and His homesickness is greater than any I have ever felt. He knew the presence of God first hand, and He chose to leave it.
Philippians 2:6-7
I hope this encourages and humbles you as much as it did me. It is comforting to know our Savior is not impersonal; rather, He understands first hand, and much deeper, the pain we go through. Even if we don't categorize our emotion as homesickness, we all long for something: friendship, peace, comfort, family, or rest. It's foolish to ignore how much "homesickness" hurts, but forgetting about God during those times is also foolish.
Remember that Jesus truly and honestly understands where you are coming from. His 33 years on earth were filled with intense and bitter longing for His Father and home, the perfection He once knew. But He didn't give up. He knew in the end, God was still waiting for Him. He knew perfection was coming, so He held on tight. And, what's wonderful about that, is that the whole reason Jesus came was to offer all He was longing for to us. Now, once we believe in Him and feel those pains of homesickness, etc., we can look to Jesus and remember, the best is yet to come.
