From a Taste of Home to a Taste of Heaven

When you think of home cooking, what comes to mind?

Storm Lake is the most ethnically diverse city in Iowa and we are blessed with several restaurants that represent that diversity. One of them is Ahuachapan, a restaurant named after a city in western El Salvador.  The first time I ate there I enjoyed a burrito and tried the hot sauce that was on each table. Yikes, let’s just say it was hotter than I expected. When I left, I noticed the sign outside that said: “El rico sabor de casa.” In English this means: “The rich taste of home.” I thought to myself that what I had just eaten did not at all taste like home to me. But I realized that for some of the residents of Storm Lake, this food reminded them of the place where they once lived and called home. More importantly, I imagine that it is the memories of the people who shared their homes that are really most valued. I can relate to that.  

Followers of Jesus can take comfort in knowing that their ultimate home is with God in heaven (John 14:2-3). But Jesus also taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. So what would it look like to experience in this life a taste of our ultimate home in heaven?

I think it would look like relationships with other people that reflect God’s relationship with us in Jesus. That means the divine qualities of truth and love that God offers to us in Jesus are in turn extended to other people.

One of the things that we can see when this happens is that people feel safe. One of the qualities that make a place a home is that people feel so safe that they can sleep at night. This requires a trust in the people who share our home knowing that they won’t harm us when we are asleep and vulnerable. When people know us deeply and still love us, we feel safe. That is what a home should feel like and that is what heaven will be like: a safe place.   

So how can you offer a taste of heaven? When you demonstrate that you are willing to give of yourself for another person; that is a taste of heaven. When you allow another person to be truthful about their weaknesses and still love them; that is a taste of heaven. Whenever you sacrifice of yourself for another person, that is a taste of heaven and people will feel safer because of you. When you then share the source of truth and love in Jesus, they will have the opportunity of receiving the ultimate safety of a relationship with God as well.

This month many people will gather in homes to share a Thanksgiving meal. Turkey with cornbread dressing and green bean casserole reminds me of the people with whom I’ve shared a home. For others, it will be some other menu. But for all of us, a taste of home is the experience of relationships where people trust each other and feel safe. When our relationship with God inspires us to earn the trust of other people and help them feel safe, that will be a taste of our home in heaven.