A Place to Call Home

It's been said that cross-cultural workers often feel most at home on the plane, flying from one beloved homeland to another.

Because of the changes you've experienced from being in another cultural, you don't view your land of origin quite like a native anymore. And because you have the background of being from another country, you see your land of service differently than the natives there. Sometimes, this cultural disconnect can leave you feeling like people without a home, much like the proverbial "man without a country" featured in the movie by that name. When coupled with feelings that the church back "home" doesn't understand your struggles and the people you serve sometimes seem to take more than they give, it's easy to feel homeless.

Beloved, never let those struggles cause you to lose sight of the truth that in Christ, we always have a place to call home. In John 14:2, Jesus tells us that He goes ahead to prepare a "place" for us. Interestingly, the Greek word is the same as that used later in verse 23: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."

The parallel of these words is significant. Jesus is going to make an eternal home for us, but He tells us that when we obey Him in love, His home is with us - NOW. When Jesus walked this earth, Scripture tells us He had no place to lay His head ... yet He prepared a people whose hearts would be His dwelling place, and promises that He is making a home for us.

John 15 continues the theme: Abiding in Christ simply means dwelling in Him. If we are "at home" in Him, and His Word is "at home" in us, we have fullness of joy, answered prayers, and incredible intimacy with God and others.

Bottom line: you are His home, and He is yours. No child of God is ever homeless! Let the longings of your heart remind you of the precious truth of abiding in Christ and having His Spirit dwell in you!