Longing for Zion
“By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.” Psalm 137:1
Do you long for Zion?
From the context of Psalm 137 we know that whoever the psalmist was he was one of the Judean exiles in captivity during the Babylonian exile. Verse one shows us that when the psalmist reflected on his memories of being in Jerusalem it caused him to mourn. There is the sense when you read the entirety of the psalm that the reason the psalmist mourned when he remembered Zion was because he longed to be there again.
The psalmist was an exile in Babylon. A member of God’s covenant people, who had lived in God’s city, in God’s promised land, but now found himself adrift among a pagan hostile people who had no respect for God or His children. Thus, the psalmist wept to be in Zion once more. Where he could be with God’s people, gaze upon God’s temple, and be near God’s presence.
What an apt image for our lives here on earth. Fellow Christians, this is not our home. The Bible speaks about our salvation in both the present and future sense. Yet the overwhelming idea is that for the Christian our salvation is future focused. Yes we are saved now from the eternal consequences and power of sin. Yes God dwells within us now and we enjoy fellowship with His children now. Yet now has never been the end of God’s redemptive plan for creation.
No my friends, God has so much more waiting to be revealed to us (Rom. 8:18) that what we enjoy now is more akin to the little sample cups handed out at supermarkets so you can try a new item they want you to buy. It is just a nibble. Not even a snack. Just enough to make you long for the real deal.
Sadly to many of us keep our eyes on the now and forget the then. In the busyness of our lives and the suffering we endure in this fallen creation, we loose sight of the fact that God saved us for eternity, and forget that those whom God predestined He will ultimately glorify (Rom. 8:30).
Yet let us also not forget that the then we were saved for is not just heaven now but the new heaven and the new earth then. Where God will dwell with his people who have had their bodies and souls reunited. And where God will wipe away our tears, and where there will be no death, nor mourning, nor crying or pain (Rev. 21:1-4). That my friends is our destiny. That is our home. How glorious that future will be defies our comprehension and is impossible for language to capture.
The psalmist reminds us that Zion is our home. We are mere sojourners in a foreign land, surrounded by hostiles who have no fear of God. There is no reason to fear them for their day is coming. Instead, let us live our lives with eyes firmly fixed on Jesus the pioneer and perfector of our faith (Heb. 12:2). Enduring our suffering now and longing for the future glory yet to be revealed. And let us also strive to take as many others as possible with us into Zion for the alternative is to terrible to imagine.
You were made for more brothers and sisters. You were made for Zion. Do you long for it?