“Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.” – 2 Samuel 1:11-12
In 2003, the Christian band MercyMe finished a concert tour when a friend of frontman Bart Millard suffered the loss the twins she had been carrying for five months. Because she was so far along in her pregnancy, it was necessary to deliver the babies. “It was devastating,” Bart recalls. At the funeral, Bart sang “I Can Only Imagine,” a song inspired by the early death of his father that has been played at countless funerals since its release.
Moved by the service, Bart wrote what would become the chorus for the song “Homesick.” But cautious of belittling the moment by “putting it into four or five minutes of music and trying to make it rhyme,” he tucked away the unfinished tune.
Then the funerals continued. Band member Jim Bryson lost his father. Other deaths in Bart’s hometown followed. “It seemed like every other day someone close to us was passing away,” said Bart. “It was overwhelming. And already having a heavy heart, at times you just feel you’re being beat down, like it’s never gonna stop.” In a period of less than six weeks, the band lost eight people close to them.
The eighth, Bart’s 20-year-old brother-in-law, Chris, was a godly man who had recently been struggling. He hit rock bottom in the early hours of Jan. 3, 2004, and paid his sister and Bart a visit.
“He just wanted to know God was real. He didn’t want to doubt anymore. He wanted to see him face to face,” remembered Bart. “We went back and forth for several hours. We said all the right things.” Then Chris left around 4 am, only after promising to meet later that day with a friend of Bart’s who ran a local church’s college group. But Chris never made it to that appointment. On the way home, he fell asleep at the wheel and was killed instantly.
A heartsick Bart finished “Homesick” in time for the band to sing it at Chris’ funeral. Despite his grief, he was glad for the ministry opportunity it provided. “We had this amazing opportunity to share the gospel and talk to his friends,” said Bart. “And that was pretty much the end of the song. It wasn’t meant to go anywhere else so I wadded up the lyrics and threw them away.”
Unlike “Imagine,” which was less of an “I miss my dad” song and more of a pondering of Heaven and what we’ll find there, Bart said “Homesick” “was really just for the situation, for me and my wife and her family. We were confused and angry and broken. The truth is there’s no goodbye in Christ, but the waiting can hurt just the same.”
Mourning the loss of a loved one reminds us how homesick we are to be with them in heaven. Today in prayer, thank Jesus that in Him, we have overcome death and we will see those who trust in Him again in Heaven.
“I close my eyes and I see your face If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow I've never been more homesick than now
In Christ, there are no goodbye And in Christ, there is no end So I'll hold onto Jesus with all that I have To see you again To see you again”– Eugene Kelly, MercyMe
God’s Word: “Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.” – Acts 8:2
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2011, Devotional E-Mail
DEVOTIONS IN THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL, CHRONICLES AND KINGS