"Home is Where The Heart Is"

Coming Home: Discovering Where We Truly Belong

What comes to mind when you hear the word home?

For most of us, home is the place where we live—a house with a roof over our heads, a place where we can settle in at the end of the day and rest. But if we lost our house tomorrow, would we really be lost? Of course not. A house is a building. We could build another one.

What makes a house a home is not the building. It is relationship, belonging, acceptance, and love. Home is where our heart is.

And perhaps that gives us a different way of understanding something Jesus said in John 14.

“In my Father’s house are many mansions…”

We have often pictured this as Jesus preparing individual mansions for us in heaven. We imagine what our mansion might look like, what it might contain, and how wonderful it will be.

But what if Jesus was talking about something much deeper?

What if the “place” He was preparing was not primarily a physical location but a place of belonging in relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?

The Father’s House Is About Belonging

Jesus was preparing His disciples for His departure. He told them not to let their hearts be troubled and encouraged them to trust in Him.

Then He spoke of His Father’s house and the place He was preparing for them.

The word translated “mansions” can also carry the idea of an individual dwelling place—a place to belong, a place to stay, a place that is yours.

That changes the picture.

Jesus wasn't becoming a heavenly building contractor. He wasn't simply going away to construct a beautiful house and someday return to take us there.

He was preparing a place for us in the relationship that has always existed between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Father's house is home because we have a place in it.

Jesus came to reveal that we belong.

“I Am the Way”

Thomas responded to Jesus with a question that sounds remarkably familiar to many of us:

“Lord, we do not know where You are going. And how can we know the way?”

Haven't we all felt that way?

“Lord, I don't know where this is going.”

“I don't understand what You're doing.”

“I don't know which way to go.”

And Jesus answered:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

We often understand those words to mean that Jesus is showing us the correct path to God—as though He is saying, “Here are the directions. Follow this road and eventually you will get to the Father.”

But perhaps Jesus was saying something even more profound.

He wasn't simply giving us directions to the Father.

He was saying, “Look at Me.”

When we see Jesus, we see the Father.

Jesus perfectly revealed what humanity looks like when it knows the Father. He entered into our humanity and identified Himself with us so completely that He could say, “You are in Me, and I am in you.”

Jesus doesn't merely show us where God is.

Jesus reveals where we already belong.

The Circle of Love

Think about the relationship of the Trinity.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct persons, yet they exist in perfect, continual union. There is no competition for position. No striving to be noticed. No disappointment. No rejection. No unmet expectations.

There is complete knowing.

Complete acceptance.

Complete love.

Complete belonging.

The Trinity shows us that relationship isn't merely something God does.

Relationship is at the very heart of who God is.

And if we were created in His image, then relationship is also at the heart of who we are.

God said, “Let us make man in our image.”

If the God whose image we bear is relational, then we were created for relationship—with Him and with one another.

We were created for love.

We were created for communion.

We were created to belong.

What Sin Really Did

Perhaps sin is more than simply breaking a list of rules.

Perhaps, at its deepest level, sin caused us to lose sight of who we are and where we belong.

Instead of living within God's circle of love, we stepped outside and tried to create our own circle.

And once we believe we are outside, everything changes.

We strive.

We perform.

We become anxious.

We try to prove ourselves.

We try to earn acceptance.

We try to convince God to love us.

We live like orphans trying desperately to find our way home.

But Jesus came to awaken us to a reality we could not see.

We were never created to live as orphans.

Jesus Came to Bring Us Home

Acts 17 reminds us that God is not far from us, because “in Him we live and move and have our being.”

There is a profound truth in that.

God isn't distant.

He isn't standing far away waiting for us to figure out how to get back to Him.

Jesus came to reveal the Father's heart and to bring humanity into a restored understanding of our relationship with Him.

He didn't merely show us where God lives.

He came to bring us home.

And home is not ultimately a geographical destination.

Home is relationship.

Home is belonging.

Home is knowing that you are loved, accepted, and received.

Three Ways to Live Awake

If this is true, how do we live differently?

There are three simple words that can help us:

1. Notice

Begin to notice where God is already present in your everyday life.

In this conversation, where is God?

In this difficult situation, where is God?

In this ordinary moment, what is He doing?

Instead of constantly looking for God somewhere far away, begin to recognize His presence right where you are.

2. Receive

Ask yourself:

What is the Father giving me right now?

Perhaps it is love.

Perhaps grace.

Perhaps wisdom.

Perhaps correction.

Perhaps peace.

Instead of living as though you have to earn your place, receive what God is already giving.

3. Participate

Then ask:

How can I participate in what the Holy Spirit is doing?

What does love look like in this conversation?

When someone hurts me, can I respond from the love I have already received?

When I serve, am I performing to earn God's approval—or am I participating because I already know I belong?

When I rest, can I actually rest?

If I know I already have a place, I don't have to constantly produce in order to earn one.

You Don't Have to Earn Your Seat

Many of us have spent years trying to figure out how to get back into the circle.

We've tried harder.

We've performed better.

We've worked harder.

We've tried to become good enough.

But the gospel tells us something different.

You don't have to spend your life trying to earn a seat at God's table.

You don't have to perform your way into belonging.

You don't have to convince God to love you.

He already made up His mind about you.

The Father's house is home because your place is in it.

Jesus came to reveal that.

You are in Christ.

Christ is in you.

The Spirit is with you.

And you are invited to participate in the life and love of God.

Come Home

Maybe today you need to stop asking, “How do I get back to God?”

Maybe the better question is:

“What would change if I truly believed I already belong to Him?”

How would you face anxiety?

How would you respond when someone hurts you?

How would you serve?

How would you rest?

How would you see the people around you?

How would you see yourself?

Jesus didn't come merely to show us where God lives.

He came to bring us home.

Home is where the heart is.

And the heart of God has always been a place of love, relationship, acceptance, and belonging.

So today, take a breath.

Stop striving.

Stop trying to earn your seat.

Open your eyes to the truth Jesus came to reveal:

You belong.

You are known.

You are loved.

You are received.

You are home.