“To him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by this blood…” Revelation 1:5

When I think of being set free an image quickly comes to mind of our family  together at the beach. There is this relaxed, carefree lifestyle we all begin immediately upon arrival. We keep no schedule, eat great food, ride bikes together and spend as much time as we want in the sun. These memories are some of my very favorite.

The day we leave is always hard and none of us are in a rush to return home, even though we love home. We miss the bike rides, the beach and freedom from schedule. Food seems to taste better there too. It is also nice to have a break in household chores and a more simplified life restores something in each of us. We are better after our trip.

When I think of heaven, I am reminded of these feelings that come along with vacation. The good news is that heaven will be eternal and we will finally be home. There will be no more drive backs and return to normal. Can you even imagine?

The question I am thinking about today is how to bring more of heaven to earth, freedom to our days? How do we live free while we are traveling home? The first step is accepting the freedom we have been given in the shedding of Christ’s blood to pay for all our sin, but then what? Could it be that we take up a more simplified life? What if we did this, love God and love others? Perhaps we would enjoy the food we eat more, ride through our days giving grace and allow Him to direct our schedule. It will not be perfect, but we will not be wasting the days we have been given. And maybe just maybe we can help make someone else’s day be a bit better too. Now that sounds like the making of some really good memories, doesn’t it?