As a preacher I’ve long ago discovered that home is where you’re preaching at the moment. My wife and I often talk about the disconnect we feel because of a ministry that leads us to move an average of every seven years or so.
In my prayers I’ve asked God to help me feel “at home” wherever I happen to be working and He’s accommodated me in a peculiar way. I always feel the same familiar comfort wherever I am but it’s not in a house or particular type of neighborhood. No, the sense of belonging that comes over me happens when the brethren gather together for worship. In essence I can say that it truly feels at home when I’m in the pulpit or mingling with the brethren in the foyer.
I guess that what the Lord is trying to tell me is that the church is my home and the town or house I live in is just the address for my mail and a place to sleep. This isn’t to denigrate the blessings He’s given me in this life or in this beautiful place here at Canyon View. I realize that as I grow older, however, that I long to be with Him in my heavenly home and being with the church here on earth is the closest thing that mirrors that experience.
The saying is still true, “There is no place like home.” I’ve simply discovered that for me and my wife there is no place on earth (except for the church) that is like our heavenly home, and we anxiously await our arrival there.