Hello ICC Family!
I mentioned moving here to Goose Creek last week… I have no idea if we will move again at some point in our lives, but I would not be surprised. The average American moves 11.7 times in their lifetime! Some of us are ahead of that rate (18 for me!), while others are behind. Are there any of you that have lived in the same home your entire life?… Some moves are obviously bigger than others. Moving from one apartment in a complex to another one is a pain, but moving from the Philippines to the USA is quite a different thing altogether.
I’m not sure if anybody actually enjoys moving to a new home. There are times when you don’t have any choice - when you take a new job in a new city, or your rent skyrockets for some reason. (Or perhaps when you get moved to a hotel while repairs are made to your flooded living room!) There are other times when we might look forward to it… when your landlord is unhelpful and unfriendly, for example, or when you are getting married, or when you just absolutely need to upgrade into more space or more rooms. (Or when you are purchasing your first home!)
But even in these instances, the actual moving process is a pain. Nobody enjoys moving. It takes forever. You have to pack everything up, and if you don’t take your time and do it right you are bound to have things get broken in the process. You have to decide where to put everything as you move in, and what to do with your furniture that doesn’t quite fit or look right. After moving in, you have to learn the quirks and issues of the new place. There is a lot of stuff you end up needing to buy - no matter what or how much you had before. You have to get signed up for new services and have them installed, which is never as easy as it should be. You need to learn the traffic patterns, find the best place to buy fruit and groceries and gas, and where to get a good pizza. You have new neighbors to meet, who may or may not be interested in having anything to do with you and might even end up having a noisy dog.
After a while, this new place will begin to feel like home, but it will definitely take time and you will need to put in the work to make it so.
Someday, though, every one of us will make a final move. And my hope and prayer for every single person reading this is that our final move is to heaven. It is probably fitting that most people move on average 11.7 times in their lives because Scripture says that our Savior, Jesus Christ, had nowhere to lay his head (Matthew 8:20). This world was not his permanent home, and it is not ours either. Instead, Jesus promises that God has prepared a house with many rooms - a mansion, the KJV version says. But the meaning there is really that of an “abiding place” for us - a permanent home of rest and peace and love and enjoyment that we share with the King and everybody else in the kingdom.
My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
John 14:2
None of us like to think about this final move any more than we enjoy moving house here on earth. But there are some advantages… There will be no settling in period. You won’t have to get used to anything at all. Instead, it will feel like the most perfect home and the most perfect situation that you have ever experienced. And it will be like that from the first moment. No awkward meeting of the neighbors. No pain or sadness because the internet is still not hooked up (none will be needed). And the best thing of all… you will never have to worry about moving again because the thought would never cross your mind that you want or need to!
Church, come this evening if you are able, to spend time with your ICC family. It really is great getting to eat together and pray together once each week.
If any of you would ever like to share a devotional thought in our weekly email, please just let me know. I am sure we would all be blessed. I am always looking for testimonies to be shared Sunday mornings as well. It is so encouraging to hear how the Lord is at work in the lives of his people!
Blessings to you all. And know that I’m praying for you!
Pastor Aaron
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