兒子問我：「為什麼要搬離我們的家？」我無法對一個五歲的小孩解釋什麼是「家」。也很難讓他明白，我們只是離開一間房子，而不是離開家。因為「家」是指摯愛的親人住在一起的地方，也是在結束漫長的旅程或整天辛苦工作之後，我們渴望回去的地方。

耶穌在受難數小時前的最後晚餐中，特別囑咐門徒：「你們心裡不要憂愁」（約翰福音14章1節）。門徒對未來感到茫然失措，因耶穌已經明說祂即將受難。但耶穌也應許他們，必與他們同在，並提醒他們，將來祂必再臨。耶穌對他們說：「在我父的家裡有許多住處；……我去原是為你們預備地方去」（2節）。耶穌大可用其他的詞彙形容天堂，但祂卻沒有將其形容為讓人感到陌生或不安的地方，而是我們親愛的耶穌所在的地方。

魯益師曾經寫道：「天父為了要讓我們在人生的旅程中，有充沛的活力，便為我們預備了一些舒適的旅館，但祂不希望我們誤認為那就是我們的家。」我們可以為了生命中這些「舒適的旅館」而感謝上帝，但我們都當謹記，天家才是你我真正的家，在那裡我們「要和主永遠同在」（帖撒羅尼迦前書4章17節） 。

“Why do we have to leave our home and move?” my son asked. It’s difficult to explain what a home is, especially to a five-year-old. We were leaving a house, but not our home, in the sense that home is where our loved ones are. It’s the place where we long to return after a long trip or after a full day’s work.

When Jesus was in the upper room just hours before He died, He told His disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1). The disciples were uncertain of their future because Jesus had predicted His death. But Jesus reassured them of His presence and reminded them they would see Him again. He told them, “My Father’s house has many rooms . . . . I am going there to prepare a place for you” (v. 2). He could have used other words to describe heaven. However, He chose words that describe not an uncomfortable or unfamiliar place but a place where Jesus, our loved One, would be.

C. S. Lewis wrote, “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.” We can thank God for the “pleasant inns” in life, but let’s remember that our real home is in heaven where we “will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).