Hometown(Quiet Night Thought)

The poem 靜夜思 or Quiet Night Thought, is regarded as one of the masterpieces of Chinese poetry. It was written by Li Bai, a famous poet from the Tang Dynasty. Featured in the Three Hundred Tang Poems, this classic is one of the first poems taught in China.

It is said that the poet was alone in an inn when he wrote this poem. In the quiet of the night, when he looked up at the moon, he was, perhaps, thinking of the childhood memories he had. Hometown is a place of nostalgia, a place of longing especially when we are away for an extended period of time. We can guess how much the poet must have missed his hometown.

Everyone has an instinct yearning for their hometown—the place where they were born and grew up. The Bible tells us we sinned in the angelic world and were cast to this earth. Our forefathers of faith said that they were “foreigners and strangers on earth” (Hebrews 11:13). So we, too, have our hometown which we longed to return to – heaven. That is why human beings have a natural yearning for the spiritual world.

Hebrews 11: 14-16 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

This earth is not a place where we will live forever. Moreover, our hometown that God has prepared for us is a beautiful place where there is no more death, crying or pain. It is also beyond human imagination—a place where no eye has seen and no ears have heard.

Our hometown is the eternal kingdom of heaven. Let us always set our minds on our heavenly home. Those who do not think of their hometown cannot go there. Only those who are always longing and yearning for their hometown can go back there. Where should we set our hearts and minds on?