OUR HEAVENLY HOME
Hebrews 11:10
I. This text must not be interpreted to mean that Abraham wandered throughout Canaan and the neighboring lands in search of an earthly city. While diligently engaged in his daily occupation he lived in quiet expectation of a heavenly city. It was this sure hope which rendered Abraham indifferent to the walled cities of the Canaanites round about him. Nothing so effectively creates indifference to mere earthly honor and security as the hope for better things to come. A homeward bound traveler, who has been away for a long time, can pass by things which attract those without a place to go.
II. What kind of city was it which Abraham looked for, in contrast to the cities of Canaan? It is eternal while the earthly cities of Abraham’s day were temporal—and now long gone. Its Builder and Maker is God, who does not build like man builds—but He builds for eternity with material that cannot decay and which laughs at the storm and the earthquake. And, what will life be like in those cities? There will be no sin there, like Abraham witnessed in the cities of Canaan. No discord! No poverty! No sickness! No suffering! No death! But, endless joy and boundless bliss! No wonder it is said of Abraham that he looked for that city “that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
III. There is a marked resemblance between Abraham’s case and ours. We too are sojourners and strangers upon earth. We seek the same city as Abraham sought in his day. However pleased we may be with our present and temporal home, however satisfied with what it affords us, we know that our abode in it is but for a time; it is not our place of rest.
IV. In order to be happy we need a home, either present or in prospect. Do you have such a home? Remember that earthly homes in view of eternity are but temporary dwelling places. Look at the households and families breaking up around you. Look forward to the “city which hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God.”
V. Let us here be on guard against a fatal error—the error of imagining that mere expectation and anticipation is sufficient. Believe me, multitudes have looked for that city who have never found it. There is but one path to it, and that path is a narrow one. It was by that path that Abraham reached that city.
