No Place Like Home

Each of the last 8 nights, I have laid my head on a different pillow in a different room. Bev and I helped Chris and Pete relocate from California to Maryland, 14 states, 2975 miles in 7 days! It was fun to see the countryside across these United States, but I’m ready to go home! Taking a break from life’s routines is a welcomed experience, but there is a genuine comfort in seeing faces of those who I love, buying coffee at the same shop, and sitting on my own couch.


We cannot over-estimate the importance of making a place called home. We do it less by building a house than by becoming part of a network of friends who love us, by regularly serving in a way that dethrones self-interest,  by being a small part of something larger than ourselves. The late Kingman Brewster (1918-1988), a president of Yale University and a public servant, said "There is no greater challenge than to have someone relying upon you; no greater satisfaction than to vindicate his expectation." In other words, it challenges Self to serve, but it is immensely rewarding to do it well and in a way that makes us part of a supportive web. That is the true ‘home.’

Our culture lauds independence, making our own way in life, with swaggering distain for a need of assistance. Such a life is largely mythical. Those who pursue life apart from 'home-making' will find themselves emotionally crippled, alone, and spiritually useless! The richness of love, not the sappy stuff of romance novels, but the robust, bold love that "always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres" (1 Corinthians 13:7, NIV) is the soul of the best life. So, I’m looking forward to going home, plugging back into my network, and doing what God calls me to do each day.

What about you, disciple?
Are you creating a ‘home’ where you are doing the sometimes seemingly impossible, always costly, work of weaving a strong web that ties you to others? Some will nourish you. Some will require you to feed and serve. Both are part of love.

One of these days, we will all be called to our final home. If our hearts are already in love with the Father and His family, it will be a wonderful reunion. But, what of those who have been too pre-occupied with themselves, too committed to self-indulgence to step outside of themselves to create authentic, loving relationships? What will they experience? For me, there’s no place like home.

Here’s a word from the Word. Soak it in today.

"It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God." (Hebrews 11:8-10, NLT)
"Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own." (Hebrews 11:14, NLT)
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Wherever there is laughter ringing,
Someone smiling someone dreaming,
We can live together there,
Love will be our home.
Where there are words of kindness spoken,
Where a vow is never broken,
We can live together there,
'Cause love will be our home.

If home is really where the heart is,
Then home must be a place we all can share.
For even with our diff'rences
Our hearts are much the same.
For where love is we come together there.

With love our hearts can be a family,
And hope can bring this family face to face,
And though we may be far apart
Our hearts can be as one,
When love brings us together in one place.
Love will love will be our home,

Love Will Be Our Home
Chapman, Steven Curtis
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