06/12/2017
Where do I make my abode? Where is my place of residence? This morning I am trying to determine whether I claim my earthly home as my permanent residence, or whether I list my heavenly home as such. Then there are the times, in my travels, that home becomes the place where I lay my head.
“Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.”
John 1:38-39 KJV
Jesus stayed in different places as He traveled, but I am surprised to find that there were only two places on earth that were said to be His actual homes... places referred to as His. The first is His childhood home with Joseph and Mary, and the second is the one that is mentioned in Mark 2:15 as "His house." However, the second is often translated as having been the home of Levi so there may actually have been just one.
“And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.”
Mark 2:15 KJV
When Jesus was ministering during His final three years, He was in that place between Heaven and Earth, He was moving back and forth between the two as His relationship with God dictated, to the point that He seemed homeless on earth. As a matter of fact, He said as much...
“And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.”
Matthew 8:20 KJV
However, Jesus always knew exactly where His home was... or should I say homes.
When Someone asks me where my home is, there are three answers, and I have to determine which home the person is referring to. First I have my childhood home, second I have my current adult home, and finally I have my heavenly home. One place I call home (Virginia) because it is where I was raised, and where my parents and family are, then there is the place here in Nashville where I have made my home and raised my own children, and finally I have that place which is being prepared for me in heaven.
If we accept the translation of Mark 2:15 as referring to the home of Levi, then Jesus had three homes as well... He had His childhood home with his Joseph and Mary, His Father's home in heaven, and wherever He laid His head each night on earth (often called His abode).
There is a secular song that was sung by The Temptations that refers to this kind of transient home. It will help us understand how nomads look at the idea of home. Listen to these words...
"Papa was a rolling stone, wherever he laid his hat was his home"
But that is where the similarity ends because Jesus never left us alone; as the next line of this song's lyrics says of the Papa in the song.
American cowboys also sung of this transient existence in songs such as "Home on the Range." So you can see that this isn't an uncommon way of life, and home can take on different connotations to people. In Luke 21 we see an example of such a place being referred to as the abode of Jesus...
“And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives.”
Luke 21:37 KJV
So where do I claim my home is? It would all depend on the context of the question... "where is your home?" This morning I am asking myself a spiritual question... so the answer should be couched by this understanding. What is being asked is if I value my existence in heaven enough to call it home, or am I so firmly rooted in my physical life that it has become my home.
As people search for home they often get lost. They have no idea where they should travel to find home. Some have never had anywhere that they even acknowledged as home... not even the place they hung their hat. But I want to tell you something wonderful. You don't have to find home because it will find you. If you meet Jesus in your travels and place your love and faith in Him, then He will bring home to you! You will not only have a place to call home, but a spiritual family to go along with it.
“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
John 14:23 KJV
My homes are precious to me, but none more precious than my spiritual home in heaven, and this home is one that I know is waiting for my arrival, and that I should never worry about finding my way home to.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for my homes, but I thank you most for the home you are preparing for me in heaven. Whether I live in one place, two places, or wander this earth, I call my true home that place where you are. You are my Father, my God, and my family; in you I find the love and security that home represents. In you I find a provider that rescues me when I am lost, and brings home to me wherever I am. Holy Father I long to make my abode with you and Jesus; not for just a day, but throughout eternity. In our love and relationship I find peace, joy, rest, and yes, home.
Rich Forbes