I’m a woodsman at heart, and so I took my wife and daughters out for a week of camping. But after two days in the woods, my family had had enough.

The first night, I found the perfect spot to pitch our tent. The problem is no one told us there were railroad tracks 100 yards away. From 2:00 to about 7:00 that morning, nearly every freight train in the county was scheduled to take this route. We also discovered there was an Air Force base 3 miles away. To cap off our first day in the woods, thunderstorms brought heavy rain to the campgrounds.

The second night brought even more rain, which strongly influenced my family’s three-to-one vote against spending a full week in the woods. So we packed our bags and spent the rest of the week in a hotel.

As I shared, the life of a tent-dweller isn’t easy. But this lifestyle portrays to a great extent the Christian life. Our real home is in Heaven, which means we must avoid growing too comfortable here on Earth. The joys of success and accomplishment pale in view of the glory of our eternal home.

You may be striving to extend your roots deeper into the soil of this world. You plan to retire and live off the accumulated savings of your IRA and 401k. Is the treasure you’re laying up here preparing you for your lodging in Heaven? Only what you do for Christ will last. Yours is the life of a tent-dweller, with home just beyond the horizon. Travel lightly.

The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. . . . Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams. But God is the ocean. — Jonathan Edwards

Devotional by Pastor Jim Scudder, Jr.