One day, a father and his two grown sons took a vacation. Halfway through the trip, they stopped at a hotel as the father received a call from his employer. He was needed back at home, but would be able to return soon to get his sons. He instructed his sons to keep their bags packed and a watchful eye for him. In the beginning, the sons diligently obeyed. They both kept their bags packed and they both watched out of the window for their father. As time went on, they divvied up shifts so that one son was watching while the other got a break to enjoy some of the entertainment that the hotel offered. With the two of them watching part time, they could in total watch a full day for their father while still enjoying everything the hotel had to offer. As time went on, and as the brothers experienced more and more of the offerings of the hotel, the task their father left them seemed less and less appealing; it seemed like boring work when compared to the fun the hotel offered. The older brother was scared by this revelation and decided to return to watching for the father full time, but the youngest son refused to keep watch. 

“It’s been so long,” he reasoned. “He’s not coming back, certainly not today, at least.” The older son was saddened by his brother’s choice but this only served to stiffen his resolve. He kept his bag packed and continued to watch for his father daily. After more time passed, the older brother noticed the younger unpacking his suitcase. “What are you doing?” asked the older brother. 

“Father isn’t coming back anytime soon. We might as well enjoy our stay here while we wait.” So the younger brother put his clothes and belongings in the hotel drawers and made himself at home as he was content to make this temporary hotel his home. Each day the younger brother would go into the lobby of the hotel or the bar, always exploring all of the things the hotel had to offer; after all, everything was being provided by their father, so the younger brother sought to enjoy himself. 

Then one day, when the older brother least expected it, his father pulled up in the family car. The older brother turned to tell the younger brother but he was not there. He had made himself comfortable in the hotel and taken up residence in another room, one that had a better view of the area and not just the bleak empty road. The older brother knew he had to hurry out to his father. 

“Where’s your brother?” the father asked, although the older brother had a sneaking suspicion that the father knew everything that had happened. 

“He got tired of waiting. He unpacked his things and made his home here.” 

“He’s chosen to live in the hotel instead of at our home?” 

“It seems that way.” 

The father shook his head, knowing that true love is not rooted in control but in free will. The father rode off with the older son, his bag packed, ready to return home. 

“‘Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.’” (Matthew 24:42-44)

“Then he said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.’” (Luke 9:23-24)

“For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)

“But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.” (Philippians 3:20)

“You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4)

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.” (1 John 2:15)

This world is temporary. It’s not our permanent home, and if we get comfortable here by indulging in all this world has to offer us, if we make this world our friend, then we make ourselves an enemy of God, and the love of God is not in us. It is as ridiculous as a person making their permanent home in a hotel. Keep your bags packed and a watchful eye, ready for the Father to call you home.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

—Redeemed