Stay at home. That is the mandate we have been given to slow the spread of Covid-19. Many of us are still going to work and all of us are playing an adult version of an Easter Egg Hunt, just with toilet paper instead of plastic eggs. Our kids are home doing virtual school and spouses are spending more time at home with each other than ever before. Our Sunday morning church gathering is now online. Introverts may love the idea of being home for an entire month and extroverts are two days in and are already going stir crazy. This is our new (and hopefully temporary) normal.

Last week, I preached on “All Glory to God” from John 8:48-59. When crisis hits or when comfort comes, we are to glorify God in all things. That is the purpose of life for every Christ follower on this earth while we await his Second Coming. For the Christian, we are not at home; we are away from out home. Paul speaks on this in 2 Corinthians 5:6-9:

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

Whether we are at home (with Christ in heaven) or away (here in our earthly homes), we make it our aim to please the Lord. I want to encourage you to make this the theme of your home in the month of April. Remind one another, “This is not our home”. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have an eternal home. We are exiles here, as 1 Peter says, and we are citizens of heaven. Soon, we will leave this temporary housing to enter into the land of our eternal home. We wait for our blessed hope (Titus 2:11-15), but we do not wait with idle hands.

While we wait to be with the Lord, let’s make it our aim to please him. Let’s spend our time reading the Word, in prayer, and in serving one another (2 Tim 3:16-17; 1 Thess 5:17; Gal 5:13). Let’s guard against corrupt words towards our spouse, kids, neighbors, and co-workers (Eph 4:29). Let’s keep our fingers from typing social media posts that are not edifying, untrue, or harm the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s keep our eyes off of entertainment that is not pleasing to the Lord. Let’s live in the peace we have in Christ (Phil 4:7). Let’s encourage one another to find our refuge in him (Psalm 46:1). Let’s go and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). Let’s please the Lord in all things (1 Cor 10:31).

Christian, you are far from home, but while you temporarily dwell here, make it your aim to please the Lord.