Jesus makes his HOME with us

Keyword home (noun): a place of residence, a familiar or usual setting 

Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” John 14:23 CSB

“There’s no place like home.”

I can still hear Judy Garland’s voice as she clicks her ruby-slippered heels together in The Wizard of Oz. The iconic movie that started out in black and white then turned to color partway through lodged a permanent place in my heart when I was a child. All the excitement and adventure of Dorothy’s trip down the yellow brick road to the emerald city paled in comparison to the relief of seeing her wake up in her own bed in her Kansas farmhouse surrounded by all who loved her.

Several years and residences later, I still agree with Dorothy. When I climb into my own bed after being away, I say it every time.

There’s no place like home.

Is it the four walls and a roof that give us protection and warmth?

Is it the familiarity of the furniture and décor we have chosen to fill the space?

Is it the sharing of dishes, bathrooms, and wi-fi with people we love?

Is it the comfort of the knowing our way around the community we live in?

Home is all those things, yet still there is something about it that we can’t put into words.

Maybe that’s what Jesus was talking about here. In this verse, he was preparing his disciples for what was ahead. He would soon be leaving them to go to his Father in heaven, and he didn’t want them to feel like they were being abandoned.

He gave them this promise:

My father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

The Greek word for home that Jesus uses (mone G3438) means staying. The act of staying or the place of staying. I think he meant both. He is committing to staying (verb) in our staying (noun).

He promises us that when we open our hearts to him, he will move in for good.

Jesus the Son and God the Father will come and live with us, in us. All of us who love him and keep his word get this offer. That comfortable feeling of being home–protected, relaxed, and known–will settle permanently into our hearts because Jesus will be there forever.

When we feel like we don’t have a place to belong, we can remember that we live with Jesus.

When we feel like we are wandering by ourselves in an unfamiliar place, we can remember that we live with Jesus.

When we feel like no one cares what we are going through, we can remember that we live with Jesus.

We can come home to God the Father and Jesus his Son and have everything we need.

We will never be alone.

We will always be right where we need to be. 

There truly is no place like home.

Dear Jesus, I need you to be my safe place, my comfort, and my support. Please help me to love you by keeping your word as you make your home in my heart. Thank you for staying. Amen.