SEEKING BETTER THINGS

"By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. . . . But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises." (Hebrews 7:22; 8:6)

Devotion 16 of 26

A BETTER COUNTRY

In Scripture "country" denotes the place of citizenship; the locale where we are at home. It speaks of a habitation with which we are compatible. Thus Scripture speaks of men belonging to a specific city, and having their "own country" (1 Kgs 22:36). Jeremiah spoke of those who wanted to forsake Babylon and return to their own country" (Jer 51:9). When the Lord Jesus "dwelt among us," the place where He was raised was called "His own country" (Matt 13:54; John 4:44).

Faith uproots us from this world, and from every country in it. When once a person believes God, a sense of not belonging to this world settles upon the soul. There comes a realization that we have been created in Christ Jesus for a better realm. Now, what is fervently desired cannot be supplied by this world and its resources.

A classic example of this can be found in Abraham. Although God promised him the land of Canaan for an "everlasting possession" (Gen 17:8), yet when he arrived there, his faith cried out for more. The Spirit says it this way, "By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, AS IN A STRANGE COUNTRY, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Heb 11:9-10).

Faith has associated us with heaven, and our real citizenship is there. As it is written, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil 3:20, NKJV). Faith cannot be content with the paltry and defiled resources of this present evil world. It is preparing us for a better place.

In this world, we are "strangers and pilgrims" (1 Pet 2:11; Heb 11:13). We do not fit into it. In fact, it chaffs against our spirits, and its manners militate against our faith. We may be in the world, but we are not of the world--not of its order or kind.

Because our hearts have been uprooted from this realm, we cannot be satisfied with its offerings. Our hearts are set on a "better" place! It is as true of those in Christ as it was of the saints of old; "But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city" (Heb 11:16). God is still "not ashamed" to be identified with those who "desire a better country!"

The heavenly country is better because it is eternal. It is better because there "the wicked cease from troubling and the weary be at rest" (Job 3:17). In that fair land there is "no more curse" (Rev 22:3). The total absence of trouble and turmoil is depicted by the phrase "no more sea" (Rev 21:1).

There will be no adversary in that heavenly country! When Abraham arrived in the promised land, "the Canaanite was then in the land" (Gen 12:6). When Joshua led the children of Israel into the promised land, it was occupied by "seven nations greater and mightier" than themselves (Deut 7:1). But when we arrive in the "better country" we now desire, no such occupants will be found. In every way, it is a "better country."

Truly, it is a "better country!" We will fit in there! There we will have peace and tranquility, world without end. Presently, grace is making us better so we will fit in that better country.

PRAYER POINT: Father, thank You in Jesus' name for a "better country." Thank You for holding it before us, and urging us to prepare to enter it.

-- Tomorrow: THE PROVISION OF A BETTER THING --