John 14:2 Jesus says, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”
For me, Christmas feels like home. And the sounds of the season serve as auditory signposts.
I love the music of Christmas. From Come Thou Unexpected Jesus to Manheim Steamroller’s rendition of Silent Night, the familiar carols draw me irresistibly into the season. Christmas standards like White Christmas, Carol of the Bells and Chestnuts Roasting fill me with warmth and good cheer.
I’ll Be Home for Christmas pulls my heartstrings no matter how many times I hear it. Originally written in 1943 to honor soldiers serving overseas, it expressed the longing of every GI to be home with family at a time when traditions and memories gather like presents piled under the tree. It speaks of that homeward-bound longing built into human nature.
God designed us to be relational creatures. From the beginning he saw it “was not good for man to be alone” (Gen 2:18). “He sets the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:6). And he calls the church to be woven as intricately together as a human body (1 Cor. 12:12-31). Even introverts!
That’s why separation from loved ones can be so difficult. A Guatemalan man came to our church door almost three years ago asking if his Spanish-speaking church might be able to meet in our building on Sunday nights. Since then, our two very different cultures have experienced the beauty of what it means to be one in the body of Christ. And Ludvin has become a beloved brother.
So when he recently announced he was returning to Guatemala, there was hardly a dry eye in the congregation. Ludvin was going home for Christmas and we would probably never see him again on this earth.
But the hope of every believer rests in knowing Jesus is preparing for us an eternal home. A home where we will reunite not only with Ludvin, but with loved ones who have already arrived. A home where there will be no more separation or division. But a home filled with an unimaginable sense of belonging and love.
Friend, I pray this Christmas, no matter where you are, you’re headed for the everlasting place where your soul will at long last cry, “Home.”