We are all at times homesick. And the home that we long for in our bones has very specific characteristics. Some of us are fortunate enough to have known a home that had many of those specifics. Some of us have never had a home like that, but are nonetheless homesick for such a place.
We know that “home” is peaceful, full of joy, and comfortable – that is, we immediately feel at home in our own skin when we get there. Most of us think of home as a place where there are wonderful meals around a common table, a place where real conversations happen naturally, where great ideas are exchanged and laughter is easy.
Beauty, too, is a part of “home.” Good sounds, good smells, good tastes greet us when we walk in the door. Flowers from the garden, clean linens, a handmade quilt, a piece of art, the morning sun shining through the window, a bowl of fruit, music from the piano or the flute, a candle in the window, all may be a part our idea of “home.”
The home we long for is also known for what is missing. Ugly words and anger are not what we long for in this home of our dreams. Discouragement and belittling comments, put-downs and reminders of past failures would never draw us “home.” Home is not cold, empty, lonely, drab, dark or dirty in our dreams. It is not confused by clutter or dampness from a lack of warmth and light. What is the home of your dreams?
We know that heaven is ultimately the home of our dreams. But Jesus prayed that God would let His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Could it be that He was praying that we would take seriously the calling of making our homes the kind of place to which we all so long to go “home”?
Could it be that Jesus was praying that more and more we would “get it” while we’re on earth and make our habitat here more like it will be in heaven so that others would be drawn to our homes like we’re all drawn to the hope of going to His home?
