I have a friend who has become a famous pastor. Years ago, in Austin, he preached a revival in our church. God worked mightily through his preaching. One day, as we sat in a restaurant overlooking a beautiful ridge in the Hill Country of Texas, he said, “Everyone needs a place. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. I need some land.” To this day, I don’t know if he found any land there.
Abraham had a place in the city of Ur. But when God led him to leave there, he became a wandering nomad. Moving from place to place, he pitched his tent, built an altar, and called upon the name of the Lord. When he climbed Mt. Moriah to offer his son on an altar, Abraham still did not own the land. Only when Sarah died, did Abraham realize he had no place to bury her. So he bargained with Ephron and bought a field and cave to bury her. Later, he would be buried there along with his family.
From time to time, I wonder where Melanie and I will be buried. One of our dear fellow ministers has a place in Arkansas with her tombstone already in place. We have not thought that far ahead. Thankfully, we have a place to live, which we co-own with a bank for the time being.
Where is your place? Do not feel badly if you don’t have one. Foxes have holes. Birds have nests. Our Lord Jesus who created the world, lived down here for thirty-plus years and owned no place to lay his head. He was buried in a borrowed tomb. Truthfully, it made no sense to buy one. Jesus only needed it until the third day!
Our tombs are temporary, too. As I write today, I remember that even Sarah and Abraham’s bodies won’t stay in the cave at Machpelah forever. The writer of Hebrews said father Abraham was looking for a city whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10). You too? I bring you good news, good friends. You have a place. Jesus went to his Father’s house to prepare a place for us (John 14:1-6). This world is still not our home. But we are not spiritually homeless. We look forward to a better country, a heavenly one. God has prepared a city for us (11:16). We need a place and we have one, in our Father’s house.
