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| have you ever been homesick.? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 16 2009, 09:23 PM (199 Views) | |
| the breeze | May 16 2009, 09:23 PM Post #1 |
the breeze
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This is a WorldNetDaily printer-friendly version of the article which follows. To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=98266 Saturday, May 16, 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A NEW BEGINNING A homing instinct Exclusive: Greg Laurie stresses God-installed desire we have for heaven -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: May 16, 2009 1:00 am Eastern By Greg Laurie -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have you ever been homesick? It's something that I experience, especially if I have been traveling for more than a few days, and especially when I am visiting another country. A pleasant aroma or some familiar thing will jog my memory and give me that feeling of wanting to be home again. As Dorothy said in "The Wizard of Oz," there's no place like home. I think, in a sense, that all of us have a homesickness for a place we have not yet been to – a place called heaven. God has essentially wired us this way as human beings. The animal kingdom doesn't have this drive, but humans do, because we were uniquely made in the very image of God. In fact, the Bible says that God has set eternity in our hearts (see Ecclesiastes 3:11). I don't think we ever will find complete satisfaction in this world, no matter how idyllic or beautifully things are going. It is always going to fall short. C. S. Lewis summed it up well when he talked about that longing for someplace else: "All the things that have ever deeply possessed your soul have been but hints of it." It is almost like a homing instinct. Our aircraft today navigate electronically, picking up radio and satellite signals using complicated equipment to translate information so a pilot can tell where he or she is going. For years we've known that birds can navigate great distances without any such system. I have never seen a bird flying around with a little GPS unit. They have this natural homing instinct that God has placed inside them. I read recently about a unique bird known as the Manx Shearwater, which nests off of the coast of Wales. These birds are noted for their incredible homing instincts. Scientists took a number of them and then tagged and released them at different points around the globe to see whether they could find their way back to the coast of Wales. One bird was released in Boston, some 3,200 miles from home. In just over 12 days, that bird returned to his nest, having traveled 250 miles per day from a place it had never been before to reach home again. Another bird, known as the Golden Plover, which is native to Hawaii, migrates during the summer to the Aleutian Isles, 1,200 miles away. There they mate and lay their eggs, and their little fledglings are born. Then the Golden Plovers return to Hawaii, leaving their fledglings to grow up a little. What is amazing is that these little birds that have never been to Hawaii then make the journey 1,200 miles away to a place they have never been. That is an amazing homing instinct. I think, in a sense, that we all have that in us: a longing for something more ... a homesickness for heaven ... a desire to be in a relationship with God. The Bible tells the story of a prodigal son, a young man who left home, became homesick and eventually returned. It is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. (Column continues below) Apparently, this guy wanted independence from his father, and there is nothing wrong with that in and of itself. After all, don't all parents want their kids to grow up and be independent – as opposed to their still living at home when they are in their 40s? In this particular case, however, it was not independence in the normal sense. This son was making an unreasonable request. He was putting a great financial hardship on his father, not to mention the fact that he was breaking his heart. Under Jewish law the oldest son would receive two-thirds of the inheritance, while the rest was divided among the younger children upon their father's death. So this son had no right to go to his father and ask him to divide the estate at this particular time. He had no concern about how his father would be inconvenienced. He was thinking only about himself. So he went to a far country with his newly acquired wealth; he probably made a lot of fast friends. But when his money ran out, his friends ran out with it. Soon he realized the emptiness of life without his father. And when a famine developed, the Bible says that "he began to be in need" (Luke 15:14 NIV). This prodigal began to be in want not only because he lost his money and friends, but also because he had no inner support. There was nothing spiritual left in his life to fall back on. That is sin for you. It promises freedom, but it brings slavery. As Jesus said, "Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin" (John 8:34 NKJV). Sin promises success, but it brings failure. It promises life, but it brings death. I have seen husbands, under the influence of sin, abandon beautiful wives and loving children to chase after some passing pleasure. People who have been in the ministry throw it all away, under the influence of sin, for a few moments of guilty pleasure. The Bible warns of the elusive glamour and trickery of sin. The prodigal finally recognized his sin for what it was and came to his senses. He decided it was time to go home. His father, seeing him in the distance, ran out to meet him. Now, in this culture, it was undignified for an older man to run. He would have had to pull his garment up above his knees to get to his son. Yet he sprinted to get to his boy. Then he threw his arms around him and kissed him. Jesus told this story to illustrate what our heavenly Father is like. So here we see that God accepts us as we are. He loves us the way we are in spite what we have done. But in this story, we should also note that the father didn't leave the prodigal son in the state he was in. Having embraced him, he then gave the command for new clothes to be brought out for his son. And so the great party began. In the same way, God says to us, "I love you as you are, but I want to change you. I want to transform you." If you are a prodigal in any way, shape or form, it is time to come home. God has given you a homing instinct. You are wired this way. Your heavenly Father has missed you. He wants to throw his arms around you. He loves you. Will you come home? |
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| Deleted User | May 16 2009, 09:41 PM Post #2 |
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"Have you ever been homesick?" No. Curious how people can only talk about the supernatural in terms of the natural. You would think that after millennia people would come up with language to talk about the supernatural itself. Consider, let's say the supernatural is like the natural to some degree. Well then to some degree it is not, but something else. What is the something else? How come we never ever hear about that? My theory is people do try, but because their something else is so different from everyone else's, it becomes better to not discuss it, but pretend everyone sees the same thing. But people don't. |
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| ngc1514 | May 16 2009, 11:58 PM Post #3 |
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Moderator
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And this has to do with the evidence behind creation science... how? |
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12:41 AM Jul 14
