Home for the Holidays

I was wondering this week about what it means to truly be at home. The beauty of the phrase, "welcome home" is never more appreciated than when said to someone like a college student who has been deprived of a comfortable bed and real food for months on end (believe me, you start to miss those things real fast!). "Welcome home," is a phrase that, when said to it's full capacity, is one of the most wonderful things to hear. Like when it is said to a soldier coming home from duty, or to a newborn being brought home from the hospital, a loved one entering in the Pearly Gates of Heaven, or, in my case, a starving college student who has forget what real roast tastes like! "Welcome Home!"

I wonder if Jesus ever really felt at home here on this earth. For instance, think about the time when Jesus' parents lost track of him in Jerusalem when he was just a boy and found him at the Temple of all places. When they scolded him for running off, Jesus looked up - probably shrugged - and said, "Don't you know I would be at my Father's house?" (Luke 2:49, Kyle's New International Version). His home was at the Temple, at church, among his Father's presence. So I wonder what it was like when Jesus went back to Mary and Joseph's house at the end of a long day and they would say, "Welcome home, Jesus!" Where did Jesus really call home?

It's not surprising that people travel during the holidays to be with family; 16.5 million one way trips according the Bureau of Transportations to be exact! This year, you may even be traveling to and from places, maybe for family or (gasps) skipping Christmas for vacation! (which is probably the safest thing you could do with all those crazy bargain shoppers milling about at Christmas time). Point is, I'm sure a lot of people will be hearing the words, "Welcome home!" or something of the like. It is a time to come together, after all, and celebrate our Savior with community. Yet, no matter where we end up for the holidays, the words "welcome home" can still be true.

Jesus' concept of home isn't a physical location. At least, it isn't a geographic location. It's an anatomic location. Home is in your heart, when you are among the presence of the LORD. 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 has Paul saying that he would rather be in the presence of the Almighty than away from him in just the flesh. God's presence makes a home inside our hearts, a home He wants to share with you and I. The amazing thing about Jesus' birth to me is that he left Heaven, a wonderful and beautiful and glory filled place, to live on this filthy and fouled up planet. I would think a transition like that would be depressing - to go from glorious Heaven to, well, here. But when Jesus came to this planet, he made a home not in a geographic location, but in the hearts of men, a home he intended to share with you.

This Christmas, when you hear, "Welcome home!" may it not just describe where you are, but also the condition of your heart. Ultimately, Christmas is a time when we celebrate Jesus entering this world, making earth his home for a period of time. I invite you to let Jesus make part of his home in your heart as well. If anyone knows what home feels like, it was Jesus, a man who made a home both in heaven, on earth, and in the hearts of men so that he might redeem man from all the mistakes, faults, problems, issues, sin, deceit, and garbage man has made. Baby Jesus - the ultimate homemaker and mender of hearts!

Merry Christmas, and Welcome Home!

KB

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:13-14