Homeland

As I type out this blog, I am sitting in one of my relatives house in Kerala, India. I was born and brought up in Andhra Pradesh, a state in South India, but my roots are in Kerala. Both my parents were born in Kerala but brought up outside it although the generations prior to them were all settled here.
Kerala forms the southwestern tip of the Indian Peninsula, covering 38, 863 sq km with a population of over 31 million. The capital city is Thiruvananthapuram ( Trivandrum) and the main language spoken is Malayalam.

I remember the last time I came to Kerala, 4- 5 years ago, I was standing at the corner of a busy street with my family. As I stood there waiting for the traffic to clear, I was overhearing a conversation between two old gentlemen standing behind me. That moment seemed like a moment of 'great enlightenment' for me. It felt like... I was hit by a lightning bolt, it was a revelation, a breakthrough, insight, I had unearthed and unveiled something of great significance.
By now I'm sure you'll want to know what it was... Well it was this... I could understand what they were speaking with utmost clarity, without having to wonder what a few words from a sentence meant. It took me a few seconds to realise that I didn't have to make an effort trying to understand the language, it came on naturally. (You must be wondering what the fuss was all about. Read on...)

In this visit to Kerala, I noticed how things are so different from the place of my birth, Andhra Pradesh, India. As I look out the window, the houses here look so different from what I've grown used to seeing. The woodwork here is much more richer, houses used thatched roofs to suit the weather. Vegetation here is predominantly coconut trees, rubber plantations, banana trees and an array of trees that I've never seen in the state of my birth. The rice they eat is much more thicker than the one I eat. Strolling through the streets I noticed that the air and water is so pure and fresh(atleast on the hillside). Roads here are generally small winding pathways with a lot of hair pin turns, contrary to the straight and wide roads of my adopted state. The language spoken here has few similarities to 'telugu', the regional language of Andhra, but sounds much more fluid and sweeter to me.
My first few days in Kerala was a little difficult as I had a tough time in not using Telugu words in my sentences. I had difficulty in adjusting with the fat pinkish grains of rice, compared to the thin long white grains of rice I have at home. Had to regularly change clothes as the climate here is very humid. In short, I realised that even after I had my origins from Kerala, I got accustomed to everything in Andhra, so much so that everything here in Kerala seemed new to me. Staying in Andhra Pradesh, I realised that my habits and tastes had changed as I adopted and embraced AP, forgetting my roots.

2 Peter 2:11 says, "Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul." Philippians 3:20..."But our citizenship is in heaven." The term 'sojourner' is applied to Abraham in Hebrews 11. In verse 9 it says, "by faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise." And in verse 13 there is this statement about him and others: "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." A sojourner is a traveler who hasn't reached his final destination. Christians are sojourners.
We live in this world, not to adopt the standards and ways of this world but to show the world that we live our life on a higher standard. Our 'home' is heaven. Therefore our culture should be 'Kingdom culture'. The way we talk, think, do, etc should reflect our 'roots' i.e. the Kingdom. We cannot lower our standards to the standards of this world but remind ourselves that we are 'Sojourners' in this world and God is waiting for our 'Homecoming'.

I got so accustomed to AP that Kerala my homeland was new and difficult to adjust for me. Heaven is our final home, its our homeland and one day, those who believe in Jesus will be there. Only question is... Have we got so accustomed to the ways of the world that we no more look forward to our homeland... Heaven ?

"... till my raptured soul shall find... rest beyond the river."