The Place We Call Home
After ten days away visiting family on both coasts of Florida, my husband and I pulled into our driveway following a full day of travel, tired, grateful, and incredibly glad to be home.
It’s a blessing to get away and spend time with people we love. Even so, there’s nothing quite like the place we call home. As I settled into my own bed, I thought about this and the following verse came to mind, “Lord, through all the generations, you have been our home.” (Psalm 90:1, NLT).
The truth is that what makes home feel like home is not so much about where we live, but who lives with us—God.
The Scripture Speaks to Home
Throughout biblical history, God’s people recognized Him as their home meaning His presence with them. His presence was their sense of identity, belonging, safety, comfort, and protection. Because of this, they followed Him wherever He led—through valleys, deserts, up mountains, and even through seas. God’s people understood that home without God was no home at all.
This is why, en route to the promised land, Moses prayed, “If you don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place.” (Exodus 33:15 NLT). Moses understood that nothing—not even a new and better home—could exceed the blessing of God’s presence with His people.
The Way Home
Fast forward many generations after Moses and Scripture tells us that God’s presence became visible and tangible when Jesus came to earth. In obedience to His Father and because of His great love, Jesus left His home in heaven and made His home with us (John 1:14). He did this so we would know the way home. Yet the way He revealed isn’t found on a map. It can only be accessed through Him. Jesus made this clear when He said, “I am the Way”—not one of many ways, but the only way—to the Father (John 14:6) and ultimately to our home in heaven.
Here’s what Jesus told us about the place we’ll one day call home: It is in His Father’s house. It has many rooms. He’s already prepared our room. And one day, He will personally take us there to live forever with Him and with His Father (John 14:2–3).
A Better Home
It was this promise of a far better home—an eternal home with Jesus—that caused the New Testament writers to see themselves as foreigners and nomads on earth (Hebrews 11:13).
They understood that although they lived in the world, they were not of it (John 17:16). Yet they were not dejected. Instead, they lived with hopeful expectation as they looked forward to a better home in heaven (Hebrews 11:16). This is why the apostle Paul’s words to believers then continue to speak to us today reminding us that our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), urging us to set our sights on the realities of heaven (Colossians 3:1), and assuring us of our eternal home in heaven made by God (2 Corinthians 5:1).
The truth is our homes are a blessing from God. They’re the places where we share life with the people we love, practice hospitality, invite community, rest, retreat, eat, and pray. At the same time, our homes are a gift, not a given. They are temporary, not eternal. This is why we’re to hold our homes loosely, knowing that God reserves the right to move us at any time for His greater plans and purposes.
So, while we should be grateful for our homes and honor God in them, we must always remember that our ultimate home is in heaven. That is the place every believer will one day call home forever.
Pray
Father, I am grateful for the blessing of home—a place of rest, belonging, and love. Yet ultimately, I am thankful for Your presence with me, which makes any place I live feel like home. Teach me to hold my earthly home loosely and to trust You wherever You lead. Keep my heart anchored in the hope and reality of heaven, the place I will one day call home forever. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Reflect
How does knowing that God is with you wherever you are provide you with confidence and peace in the home you now live?
My friends, your thoughts matter! I’d love to hear from you. Consider sharing your responses in the comment section below!