We had to leave.
We had to step out in order to find Him again.
We had to leave our little city in order to find Jesus. We had to go through the gates.
We are sojourners. We never arrive in this life. We are travelers, logging long miles beneath tired, aching feet.
And yet, He is with us, walking beside us, often carrying us when we can’t go on. Encouraging us to go a little farther…a little deeper.
We
Had
To
Leave.
“Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.”
Hebrews 13:13
Jesus fulfilled the father’s will outside the city, becoming sin that we might become His righteousness. Shall we not leave the passing comforts of this world in order to gain unfailing ones? Shall we not freely give all to find the pearl of great price?
We.
Had.
To.
Leave.
We crossed the divide, came down the mountain, and met God in the midst of the plains.
In the midst of pain…of loss of what was.
In brokenness, we are being made whole.
And the next verse…a reminder of our temporary addresses:
“For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”
Not yet...but coming.
I want to live, wherever we may lay our heads, and seek the peace of that city, establish a home, raise my kids (Jer. 29), but always remember it’s not our end, our final place.
There is a city to come.
And the pain of leaving and going outside those walls will never occur.
One day, we won’t ever have to leave again.
One day, we will be home.
The Wading Pool 