We just celebrated our 49th Homecoming at Southside Baptist Waycross, and that got me thinking about the subject of : “Homecomings.”
The Bible is full of meaningful homecomings. Jacob returned to Bethel. Joseph reunited with his family. Naomi came home to Bethlehem. The ark of the covenant returned to its rightful place. The prodigal son came back to his father’s house.
Those homecomings were real, precious, and God-given—but they were also pictures. See friend, every homecoming we enjoy on this side of Heaven is sweet—but every one of them is temporary. However, they point forward to the greatest homecoming of all: the day God’s people go home to be with Jesus, forever.
Jesus spoke of that day with steady, comforting words: “Let not your heart be troubled… In my Father’s house are many mansions… I go to prepare a place for you… I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1–3). Notice the language: Jesus did not say He was preparing an idea or a feeling. He said He was preparing “a place.”
Heaven is not a fairy tale or a made-up story. Heaven is not merely a symbol. Heaven is a real place, prepared by a real Savior, for real people who have been truly saved. And what makes Heaven so precious is not merely what you will see—it is Who will be there. Jesus said, “that where I am, there ye may be also.” We are not just going to a mansion; we are going to the Master.
That truth changes how believers walk through life. The Bible says, “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). That word “conversation” carries the thought of citizenship. If you are saved, you live here, but you belong there. That’s why Christians can have peace when the world is shaking: this world is not our home. We are pilgrims passing through.
Paul described our present life as a temporary tent: “If our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God… eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1). Everything down here wears out—bodies, strength, health. But Heaven does not decay. Heaven does not break down. One day, God’s people trade the tent for the house.
Paul added this confident hope: “Willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Not confusion. Not darkness. Not uncertainty. Present with the Lord.
And this heavenly homecoming includes a reunion. Paul wrote, “Sorrow not, even as others which have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Christians do grieve—but not like those who have no hope. Why? Because of what comes next: “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout… and the dead in Christ shall rise first… Then we… shall be caught up… to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). The cemetery is not the end of the story for those who died in Christ.
Heaven is also relief from everything that hurts. God promises a day when He will “wipe away all tears… and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying… neither shall there be any more pain” (Revelation 21:4). That promise is precious to anyone who has carried grief, sickness, heartache, or fear.
But Scripture is also clear: Heaven is a homecoming only for the redeemed. Jesus said, “I am the way” (John 14:6), and “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Church membership cannot save. Baptism cannot save. Good works cannot save. Only Christ saves.
So here is the question: Are you ready for that homecoming? The Bible promises, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). The greatest homecoming of all begins when a person comes to Jesus—and when that day arrives, we won’t be guests. We’ll be home.
Jimmy Barrett is a resident of Blackshear and pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Waycross.
