This post was last updated on February 9, 2026
Day 340, Year 1
Desire a Better Country
“But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11:16 NKJV)
Among certain ethnic groups in southern China, it is believed that the human spirits come from heaven, and exist there before they are conceived in mothers’ wombs. Similarly, I have read a book called Children are from Heaven by John Gray. The book’s title marks the point. Our Father God creates all human spirits, and thus every spirit naturally longs for heaven. But it is somehow difficult for ordinary people to imagine heaven as their home, because we can hardly remember anything before infancy. I believe that if God had not erased the memory in our fetuses, everyone would have believed in Jesus and longed to return to heaven. In addition, if you experience some setbacks in the world or feel out of place, etc., you can long for the heavenly home. Indeed, heaven is the true home of every believer.
Believers desire the heavenly country. In Greek, “country” (14) is patris, which means “one’s native country, one’s fatherland, a fixed abode, or one’s own native city.” Thus, if we acknowledge that the heavenly God is our only Father, we would like to go to our heavenly home with our friends in faith altogether. Hence, we will adjust our minds to prepare to speak only heavenly words in eternity rather than different earthly tongues. What we feel comfortable with is not the home of today, but the home of heaven, because the heavenly one is the ultimate and most beautiful. If you think that your current homeland is good, then your heavenly home will be even better. We are to consider “our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20 NASB) If the Father is your personal God, He will surely help you. After you pray to Him, He will hear and answer you sooner or later.
The supreme God is not ashamed to be called our God. When we connect with Him in a godly way, we manifest Him and glorify Him in this world. Jesus mentions that the devil is “ruler of this world” (John 14:30 NKJV) and that the whole world lies under the hand of the evil one (1 John 5:19). However, God is in control of the world and behind everything in it. Without His permission, no wickedness can prevail. Even though evil temporarily gains victory, it is short-lived and serves to polish our faith.
Reflection questions:
1) Do you feel like you belong to this world or to the heavenly Father God? Why?
2) To be a traveler or stranger in this world, to die, and then to the eternal home. What thing sounds difficult for you? If so, how would you deal with it with God’s help?