“Ooops! We sold the wrong house.”

That’s what the bank confessed to Anna Ramirez of Homestead, Fla. They evicted her family and threw her furnishings out on the street. Then the bank sold her house for one-third of its value.

An error in the Miami-Dade County Clerk’s office led the bank to believe it was a foreclosure. So, they auctioned off the house. The bank simply goofed.

To the institution’s credit, they eventually reinstated the Ramirez family to their residence.

Until the matter got corrected, the family bummed places to sleep with friends.

One day they lived in relative comfort. The next the family found themselves homeless due to no fault of their own.

In the Bible, the lack of a permanent home plagued many. After leaving his home in Ur, Abraham traipsed around the promised land without a permanent residence.

The Hebrew children wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years living in tents. David moved from hiding place to hiding place when on the run from King Saul.

Homelessness came to symbolize the uncertainties of human life.

Jesus Himself proclaimed that foxes and birds had dwelling places. The Son of Man, however, had nowhere to lay His head (Matthew 8:20).

Jesus promised more permanent digs for His followers.

“In my Father’s house are many dwelling places…I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

He referred, of course, to life after death for those who trust Him. The human history of homelessness highlights the permanence of eternity.

God keeps mistake-proof records. The eternal future of believers is not subject to accidental foreclosure.

You experience daily the uncertain nature of earthly living. But you can be confident of that which is certain.

God’s already made provision for your eternal future. That offers encouragement for right now.

Darryl Wood is the pastor of First Baptist Church Vincent. He can be reached at dwood132@fbcvincent.org.