home /ho?m/ noun
the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.
Home has become somewhat of an elusive term in our society. The dictionary definition makes an attempt to nail it down to one simple place, but I think that most of us can agree that this definition doesn’t quite cover it. Sure, home is a place… or maybe home is places… or maybe home is a person… or maybe home is just a feeling… see where I’m going with this? I’ve spent a lot of our time in Colombia so far thinking about what home is for me and why that is.
My last ministry of the race is a partnership with a pastor here in Medellin, Colombia. When people think of Colombia they often think of Pablo Escobar, drug trafficking, and crime. Drugs and crime are definitely a problem here, but there is so much more to this beautiful country than that. The people that I’ve met in the last two weeks are full of love, passion, and humility. They’re proud of their country and their heritage. Nonetheless, my team has been doing a lot of evangelizing on the streets here. We’ve been to areas with a high population of homeless people as well as parks known to be a place where people go to sell and take drugs. Each night we go out and meet people the concept of home is always stuck in my head.
In the past 11 months I have technically been homeless, especially if you compare my lifestyle against the dictionary definition. I haven’t had a permanent home because my team and I are constantly moving, yet there are so many places that have felt like home. Sending Hope International in Thailand felt like home. Vision English Cafe in Vietnam felt like home. Camino de Vida in Peru felt like home. Maria and Antonio’s house in Ecuador felt like home. Team Hesed felt like home. Team Jubilee felt like home. Team Lil Seizers feels like home. None of these are permanent in my life but my soul longs for each place just as much as you might long for your bed on an early Monday morning. Why? As an analytical person I have to stop and think about WHY the accepted definition doesn’t apply to all of the places that have felt like home to me. No matter how I turn the pieces I cant quite make this definition fit, so I propose a new definition.
home /ho?m/ noun
1. the place(s) where one lives (physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually), especially where they feel loved, free, secure, accepted, understood, supported, encouraged, and fought for.
2. anywhere one goes with the Father, God.
This tension is one that I’ve felt before the race, but I have come to understand it with increased clarity in this past year. For me-as a Christian-home is anywhere that I go with my Father because He makes a way for me. When I live in the will of God I am brought to people and places who make me feel loved, free, secure, accepted, understood, supported, encouraged, and fought for. These people and places come with their challenges, but they are still home. I have a Father in heaven who longs to give me good and perfect gifts (Matt 7:11) and one of those good and perfect gifts is being able to find a sense of home in so many places. Just when I feel like there is no more room in my heart to love another place or person, He makes more room. What a full life we are given in Christ!
I’m grateful for this transient heart of mine and all of the places it has brought me, but I’m even more grateful for the God who created it that way and He wants these things for you too! Life is rich when you give it completely to the Lord, so I encourage you to make your home in Christ and watch in amazement at all of the additional homes He gives you. Amen.
