Little Wisdoms

Many who grow up in highly mobile families struggle with the question “Where are you from?” As a missionary kid, I heard this countless times—in Paraguay, where I was born and in China where I spent my adolescence.

I often asked myself, “Where am I truly from?” My South Korean parents met in Paraguay, where I was born, and later moved to China to follow their calling as missionaries. Having grown up in both countries, I wondered—am I Paraguayan? Chinese? Or am I simply Korean because of my heritage?

There’s a German word I love very much that has no direct translation in English: fernweh, or “far-sickness.” Unlike homesickness, which yearns for a familiar place, fernweh is a longing for a new place you have never been. For me, that place is heaven. In heaven, I will finally find my place of true belonging. This longing for a true home has shaped my understanding of heaven and eternity.

Heaven and Hell: Two Sides of Eternity

While this longing for heaven provides deep comfort to me, it also raises challenging questions about the afterlife. If there’s a heaven to yearn for, what about its counterpart, hell? Why would a loving God create such a place?

C.S. Lewis offers insight in his novel about heaven and hell, The Great Divorce. He writes, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’”

Some might argue that hell contradicts a loving God. I’ve come to understand differently. God’s love includes respecting our free will. If we consistently choose to turn away from Him, He ultimately honors that choice. Even when it leads us away from His presence and joy.

Our daily decisions matter. By choosing to disobey one of God’s commandments today, we turn one degree away from the North Point of where we are supposed to go and become one degree less human, as God intended us to be.

I struggle with this. When I distort the truth to make myself look better, I’m veering off course. When I judge others to feel superior, I’m straying from God’s path.

These small choices accumulate over time. They shape our character and our relationship with God. Day by day, year by year, we create our eternity. Heaven or hell—it begins with our choices now.

Understanding the nature of hell as separation from God helps us appreciate the true essence of heaven. It’s not about escaping punishment, but about embracing God’s presence.

God’s Presence: The Essence of Heaven

I used to long for heaven because I believed it was where I would finally belong. Now I think differently. Heaven is God’s dwelling place. Where God’s Spirit is, that’s where heaven is. The absence of God in a place must be hellish. The presence of God in a place must be heavenly.

The Garden of Eden wasn’t perfect simply because of its creation. Its perfection came from God who walked among His creation (Genesis 3:8). The new heaven and earth in Revelation 21 isn’t a place we should look forward to simply because there will be no more tears or death, but because “the dwelling place of God is with man.” (Revelation 21:3).

Living Heaven on Earth

Here’s an incredible truth: we don’t have to wait for death to experience heaven. The tremendous thing about our God is that He chose to take on human flesh and dwell among us.

If the presence of God in a place is heavenly, then Jesus and His Holy Spirit walking with me in my everyday life means that this place, right now, is heaven. Perhaps that is what C.S. Lewis means when he continues in his novel: “…the Blessed will say “We have never lived anywhere except in Heaven, and the Lost, “We were always in Hell.”

That means that every act of obedience today brings me closer to God, turning my life, right now, into heaven. I don’t need to wonder where I’m from anymore. True “home” is not a physical location, but a right relationship with God.

As we navigate our daily lives, how can we invite God’s presence into our routines, our relationships, our work? By doing so, we’re not just preparing for a future heaven, but bringing glimpses of it into our present reality. And what a wonderful way to be witnesses to our neighbors.

After many days of continued obedience, may we be able to say that our life on earth was just the beginning of our journey in heaven.