longing for home

Hebrews 12:13-16

The author interrupts the description of Abraham's life to lay out a more general description of all the people who lived by faith in the OT. The author lists descriptors: still living by faith when they died, did not receive the things promised, lived as foreigners and strangers on earth, longing for heaven. The theme of being certain of what is unseen is continued in this passage.
The main theme of this passage is that the people of faith realize that they have no place to call home here on earth. They are longing for a heavenly country for which they were made and, according to the author, God is pleased with this faith for he has prepared a city for them - a place they can call home.
This passage teaches me that God is trustworthy and is the fulfillment of all my longings. When I long for a home, a place to belong, God has already built it. My role, according to this passage, is to have faith that I will someday find myself as a citizen of this city. I am struck by the faith of these people who, even though they were dying without receiving the things promised to them, still held on to faith that not even death could prevent God from fulfilling the promises. I want that kind of faith - that despite all the circumstancial evidence, believes that God can rise above or worth through the circumstances to fulfill his promises. I am also struck by the allegiance these people had to heaven. It prevented them from feeling truly at home in this world. I am a proud Canadian and feel very at home in most of Canada. However, the truth is that Canada is not really my home. I fear that I have become too attached to this country and to this world. I would like the Spirit to cultivate a healthy longing for heaven in me.