Am I Homeless?

Home - "A place where a person or family lives, perhaps spends much of their time, or where a person is comfortable being."

A home for me is more than a four corner space where one lingers while devouring time for self-amusement. It is more than a sturdy roof that shelters me from the heat of the sun and protects me from the wrath of the storm. A home for me simply is a sanctuary, a safe haven, a comfort zone so to speak.

I have begun to notice in recent weeks that my idea of home, with all its comforts and security, has proven to be less of a reality than my heart had hoped to find. My past experience of home with all its warm, cozy memories has seemingly eluded me as God appears to be redefining what this really means at this point in my walk.

Now don't get me wrong here...I do recognize all the beautiful things/people/places tied to my hometown that have brought me great joy and loving acceptance, and continue to do so. For that I am grateful beyond words. But what I'm speaking of is the difference between hometown and HOME. I have noticed a shift in where my comfort, my shalom lies....and it isn't found in my old stomping grounds. It has occurred to me that the more I step into my love for Christ and the closer my heart burns into His, the further I am pulled away from this world and all its unsatisfying offers.

Let me explain.

Contrary to the popular propaganda that reads "Jesus is Homeless," I have entertained the thought that HE is in fact home. That the rest, the security, the profound peace to which our hearts long, is discovered when we dwell in, or upon, the One that has promised us these very things and so much more....if only we will walk through the door of His dwelling. True, we must not expect a fancy door like you might see on the banks of Beverly Hills. It may not even resemble that of the cookie-cutter subdivisions of middle-class America. I think more accurately we could expect a one-room, humble shack similar to those you might find in say, the slums of Cambodia. The kind where there is no door, as it displays an open invitation to come and rest. We must always remember that with the Kingdom of God, things aren't always as they appear.

And this brings me back to the question, "Am I Homeless?" In the sense of the world, yes - I do not have those four walls to claim as my own. But as I walk as a foreigner on this earth, I can rest, I can sit in peace in the sanctuary of my Savior. Let me go home.

"They agreed that they were no more than foreigners and nomads here on earth. And people who talk like that are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had meant the country they cam from, they would have found a way to go back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland." Hebrews 11:13-16

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." John 1:14