Since moving to Narrabri over 30 years ago, I rarely go to Sydney, the city where I did most of my growing up. To be honest, when I am travelling Sydney is the place I prefer to avoid, especially when driving.

With the advent of video conferencing software, most meeting and events can be attended remotely.

Last weekend I needed to make ne of those rare trips. My wife and I flew there on Friday and returned Monday evening. It was “OK”.

One of the things I have noticed over the last few decades is that Sydney seems grossly overpopulated. Everywhere you go there are high rise apartment building and people. Going to the local Westfield seemed to be an assault on the ears just from the sheer volume of people talking to each other and the mood music.

Om the positive side, the bigger population means that public transport is much more efficient and easier to travel on. Trains and buses come with great regularity even in off peak times.

So the experience of being in the big city had its pluses and minuses. As I get older I think the minuses greatly outnumber the pluses.

It was so good to get home. Home is a wonderful place. It is the place where you belong, where you know you fit, where your friends and neighbours know you.

The idea of “home” in our minds is a sense of where we fit into God’s purposes for us. We often feel that things aren’t quite right on the earth and we look forward to a time when everything will be put right.

Right near the end of the Bible, we are given a description of a new city that descends from heaven. The city is huge and God’s presence lights up the city, even at night. A river of living water flows through the city and the leaves of the trees that grow beside the river can heal everyone.

The city is a description of heaven, the place where Jesus’ followers will go to live forever.

That sounds like a great place to call “home.”