No Place Like Home

Tis the Season for giving and receiving gifts, preparing and serving holiday foods, dessert and special candies. It is also the season for having company come to your house. Some company comes over for a meal or dessert and coffee, other company comes to your house to spend a night or two, but either way the idea of “company’s coming” sends most host families into a “get ready for company” mode.

If you house is like mine, the “get ready” mode includes cleaning the house from top to bottom cleaning the carpet and tile, bathrooms, and making sure all the beds have clean sheets and the bathrooms have fresh towels. Then there is the preparation of food, which includes agreeing on a menu and shopping for all the ingredients to prepare the meal(s). Having company over during the holidays is a big deal. Most families look forward to company coming during the holidays for weeks or months and they plan and prepare for days making sure everything is just right for their special guests.

Most of the time the special guests who come for the holidays are extended family members or older children who are coming home for a good visit. The anticipation of children and family coming to your house for the holidays grows and grows as the day of their arrival draws closer and then before you know it your special guests which you have planned for are in your home and all your planning for preparation goes into action as you play the part of host or hostess during the holiday visit.

You know how all that experience feels especially when you are looking forward to family members coming to your house. The anticipation, the joy and happiness upon their arrival, the celebration of family being together. Can you imagine what God the Father is going through as He looks forward to all of His family coming home to spend eternity with Him?

Jesus says in John 14, “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” Imagine for a moment what it will be like when all of God’s family goes home to praise God in His house. You talk about a party…. A family reunion…. A celebration!

So this Christmas season as you celebration the birth of Jesus and as you prepare for and enjoy family take some time to look forward to the time that you will be able to stand in the presences of God in His house and know that you are home for eternity. Then you can truly say, “There is no place like home!” I bet God gives the best hugs ever.

Love God. God Love Others.