A Christmas Carol: W3 - FRI
Turning towards our forever home Matthew 4:17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
Mark 1: 15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”
Psalm 23: 6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 90: 1 Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!
Early on in my career, I had two different job opportunities presented to me and my family. One, would keep us where we were, but in a job that we definitely saw God at work in. The other would have gotten us closer to family and allowed our kids to grow up closer to grandma’s and grandpa’s, aunts and uncles and cousins; something we also felt God wanted.
I struggled over this decision for some time. What did God want me to do most? Where would I most be in His presence, living in step with Him and what He wanted for my life? Where would we be most at home?
It was during this season that I read a familiar passage in a new light. The end of Psalm 23 says, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
When I read those words in this season of life I knew that being at home with God isn’t about a job or a location, it’s about a state of my heart. You see, heaven isn’t our home. Our home is the heart of God. That is where we came from, and to where we can return today, right now, when we repent (or turn) to Him. We don’t have to wait until Jesus comes in the clouds to be at home with Him, we can be there right now.
So if being at home with God is a state of mind rather than geography, then we can be at home with him right now no matter what we’re going through in this life. We can be at home with him even when we’ve been away from our family home for some time. We can be at home with him even when we’re in a job we don’t love. We can be at home with him even as we wait to be held in his arms. You see, eternity isn’t just the future, eternity begins now when we seek to make our home with God.
This Christmas story that we’ve been given isn’t just a great “once upon a time” story. It is the greatest story ever told that leads to the greatest ending ever imagined that will actually never end. Our job is to believe that it’s true. Believe that our God came into this world, as one of us. Grew up and lived a life we never could. Then laid that life down to take upon himself the consequences for our sins. Thankfully, the story didn’t end there. For that same God resurrected on day three and set a fire that continues to burn to this day. A fire that draws us all into a love that is higher and wider and longer and deeper than anything we can possibly imagine. A fire that God hopes we’ll help him spread so that all people everywhere may know He loves them, and that He wants so badly to spend eternity, with all of us…at home with Him.
So laugh, celebrate, worship, be joyful, and remember that because of Christmas we have the gift of a present and a future that we couldn’t have dreamed up even if we tried. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
Mark 1: 15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”
Psalm 23: 6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 90: 1 Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!
Early on in my career, I had two different job opportunities presented to me and my family. One, would keep us where we were, but in a job that we definitely saw God at work in. The other would have gotten us closer to family and allowed our kids to grow up closer to grandma’s and grandpa’s, aunts and uncles and cousins; something we also felt God wanted.
I struggled over this decision for some time. What did God want me to do most? Where would I most be in His presence, living in step with Him and what He wanted for my life? Where would we be most at home?
It was during this season that I read a familiar passage in a new light. The end of Psalm 23 says, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
When I read those words in this season of life I knew that being at home with God isn’t about a job or a location, it’s about a state of my heart. You see, heaven isn’t our home. Our home is the heart of God. That is where we came from, and to where we can return today, right now, when we repent (or turn) to Him. We don’t have to wait until Jesus comes in the clouds to be at home with Him, we can be there right now.
So if being at home with God is a state of mind rather than geography, then we can be at home with him right now no matter what we’re going through in this life. We can be at home with him even when we’ve been away from our family home for some time. We can be at home with him even when we’re in a job we don’t love. We can be at home with him even as we wait to be held in his arms. You see, eternity isn’t just the future, eternity begins now when we seek to make our home with God.
This Christmas story that we’ve been given isn’t just a great “once upon a time” story. It is the greatest story ever told that leads to the greatest ending ever imagined that will actually never end. Our job is to believe that it’s true. Believe that our God came into this world, as one of us. Grew up and lived a life we never could. Then laid that life down to take upon himself the consequences for our sins. Thankfully, the story didn’t end there. For that same God resurrected on day three and set a fire that continues to burn to this day. A fire that draws us all into a love that is higher and wider and longer and deeper than anything we can possibly imagine. A fire that God hopes we’ll help him spread so that all people everywhere may know He loves them, and that He wants so badly to spend eternity, with all of us…at home with Him.
So laugh, celebrate, worship, be joyful, and remember that because of Christmas we have the gift of a present and a future that we couldn’t have dreamed up even if we tried. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
- How would you describe the kingdom of God? What is it? Where is it?
- How do you and I make our home with God, now, not just in the future?
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