At Home
By Greg Burts
August 20, 2009
[I recently returned from a twelve day mission trip to Brazil. I'm thankful for God's blessing on the ministry events there. However, as Judy Garland said in a classic movie, "There's no place like home." This meditation connects the typically positive values of home and loving relationships with the gracious blessings we have as New Covenant believers in Christ. Greg writes a blog that featured this article. - JBW]
One of our friends sent me an email earlier this week to tell me a dear friend of hers had died that morning. My immediate response was: "He's AT HOME with the Lord."[1]
While reading through the Gospel of John yesterday, my attention was drawn to the familiar words:
"If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him and WE will come to him and make our HOME with him" (John 14:23 NIV).
I realized that being "at home" with the Lord is a present reality. The words "at home" connote comfort, rest, contentment, love, intimacy, and familiarity. The phrase "Home Sweet Home" comes to mind! The more conscious we are of His internal dwelling presently, the more we will be "at home" with Him.
The original man and woman were "at home" with God in the Garden of Eden. But they sinned against God and became homeless! [2] Through Jesus, God has brought us home to Himself, to His presence, to His love, to His Fellowship. And amazingly, we have become His dwelling place (Eph. 3:17).
[Christ declared] "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Rev. 3:20 KJV). Are you "at home" with the Lord?
From http://dyingtoliveabundantlife.blogspot.com/ August 6, 2009 (footnotes added)
[1] 2 Cor 5:6-8
[2] Gen. 2, 3:8,23-24
Greg and Altha Burts are exchanged life counselors and trainers in California. Greg is the author of Dying to Live, and Strategic Biblical Counseling. Altha has written Come Up Higher. (These books are available via http://www.PleasantWord.com .) For an excellent Christ-centered discipleship study, listen/watch Treasures of Truth at their web site: http://www.well-of-life.org.
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