Homeless

Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young...

—Psalm 84:3

The author, a member of Israel's temple choir, was far from home. "Why should I be homeless," he laments, "when sparrows and swallows have a home?" 

The answer to this man's question is quite simple: Sparrows and swallows are birds. We are not. Birds and animals feel at home in their environment, but you and I never will. We try to settle down, but in our heart of hearts we know that this world is not our home. We're made for Heaven and nothing else will do. Our souls "yearn for the courts of the Lord" (84:2). 

So... "Please your Master and be merry, and for this world give not a cherry." Happiness is knowing that we're just a-passin' through, making our way toward Heaven and home (84:5). One foot up and one foot down. "We're marching upward to Zion, the beautiful City of God!" 

David Roper