Day 30: Home is where the heart is
“Home is where the heart is.” Where is home for you? That is an awfully personal question. The idea of home brings memories to our minds. For some of us good memories, and for others of us, not so good.
“David, dinner…” What sounded like a faint call to me at the school playground, originated at the back door of my home with my mother yelling at the top of her lungs. Her call travels about a block. The “call to home” is strong.
Beyond my own childhood memories, my 90+ year old father-in-law stays in our home for part of each month. He reminisces about his home, his childhood home.
Home is a fascinating place, not only physically, but in our hearts and minds.
This chapter of John is packed. Jesus talks again about God using the title Father. And then says that He, Jesus, “Is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” There is so much. Let’s look at the first 11 verses.
At a very basic level, I am struck by the emotion. Jesus is leaving. His friends don’t want him to leave. They are troubled. Jesus is asking them to think differently.
Jesus is on his way back home—and he is excited to bring us! We read that he is going to prepare a place for us.
Ever been excited to have someone over to your home? You do all sorts of things to get ready.
While Jesus’ words take us deeper, and even seem a bit cryptic, their starting point is in the idea of being in that place where your heart naturally finds its rest, its peace—home.
...which is a natural entry point for the deeper meaning. Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to the Father, he is going to prepare a place, and that he will come back and get them. Up to this point it makes complete sense.
Then Philip, one of the disciples, asks to see the Father. The answer – “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” – while a bit challenging, gives us insight into God: Father-Son (soon we will look at the Holy Spirit). Jesus invites us to consider his oneness with the Father.
I don’t think we need to struggle too much with this concept. From a purely human standpoint we all have had experiences knowing people (often husband-wife or parent-child) where there is a oneness. Talking to one is like talking to the other. Spending time with one can often be like spending time with the other; they complete each other’s sentences, make the same facial expressions, etc. Visit people in their “home setting” and this experience of oneness is often amplified.
What I am writing about is purely from a limited human perspective. Imagine what this must be like for God the Father and God the Son!
Yet, don’t get too hung up with this theological wrangling. John has been inviting you to consider who Jesus is—and this Jesus is telling you that he is preparing a place for you in his home with his Father. So, “do not let your hearts be troubled.” In this world we have lots of trial and tribulations. Because this world is not your home.