Something Missing
Today’s devotional was written by my son, Clark Wrather, who is the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Broken Bow, Oklahoma. The Scripture and title have been added.
I spent Thanksgiving with my wife’s family in Texas. I had a good time, ate too much food, and even watched a little bit of football before snoozing away the afternoon. This is how I’ve spent my Thanksgivings for a number of years.
Even though I celebrated in the usual manner, something seemed to be missing from the day. It was nothing I could put my finger on at the time, but something was left out of the day. It took me a while to figure out what was bothering me, but I eventually did. Even though I was surrounded by great people, good food, and good football…it wasn’t home.
My family hasn’t had a real Thanksgiving in several years. Every year as I grew up, we would get together at my grandparents in Elk City. I would see my cousins and all of us would eat too much food, watch some football and possibly enjoy a catnap in the afternoon. I believe that I must miss those times more than I realize. The longing for this kind of holiday with family at home made me think that something was missing from the Thanksgiving I did have.
In life, we sometimes feel like something is missing. We go to church, spend time with our families, do well at our work and still…when it’s late at night…we may feel like something is missing.
If you have believed in Jesus Christ, my friend, you may just be longing for your real home. Because the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, it is hard for a believer to be completely, totally satisfied on our fallen world. At least, I hope that none of us are.
(We will never experience complete joy, and fulfillment until we reach our real home, Heaven.)