“I wonder how they’re doing back home?” I caught myself saying the other day. England has suffered badly with Covid, with still no sign of relief. We have friends there who’ve recovered from the virus.
My wife and I moved to New Zealand in 2005. Surely, it’s home by now? How long do we live in a place before it becomes more than a residence? The distant British Isles remain the home-country for generations of Scots and Irish settlers.
Maybe home is not where we live after all
We lived in Buenos Aires for a year. Home was a tenth-floor apartment—a haven from the thirteen million Porteños, until terrorists bombed the nearby Israeli embassy one Sunday, while we ate lunch.
Home in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, was a duplex penthouse commanding dramatic views over the city from its roof-top swimming pool. In Porto Alegre, we stuffed newspaper in the window gaps to keep out the snow. All were home. For a while.
Perhaps home is our birthplace? Visiting family last year, we returned to my village, Ebbesbourne Wake, in Wiltshire. I was born in a thatched cottage across the street from the Horseshoe Inn. “Hello, John,” the publican said, “Nice to see you home.”
It didn’t feel home—we’d drawn a line under it when we sold the farm there thirty years ago. So where is my home?
When we surrender to Jesus as our Lord, we become aliens and strangers here on earth. We’re called to another city; the city of the living God; to thousand upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly; to the church of the firstborn.
For home is not where we live—it’s where we belong.
My home is neither New Zealand nor England. My home is in heaven.
I hope you, your family, and friends stay safe by taking the proper precuations as we enter in to confusing and troubling times as we watch a worldwide pandemic unfold with this Coronavirus.
Could there be something more deeper going on with all of this? Could we be seeing the signs of the times unfolding? Could this be a door of opportunity for people to open their hearts to what God has to say?
[This comment continued for several pages – Ed]
Hi Sarah,
You didn’t make a comment – you wrote an essay! Thank you for it, but we try to focus on what brings joy and peace, and not fear. The end times are surely coming, but so is the Lord Jesus!