Bible Reading: Psalm 46:1-3
Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! Psalm 90: 1
LIKE EVERYONE else alive, you have a need to belong. God meant that need to be met first in your family. No matter how ugly the world gets, the idea is that you can always come home and say, “I can be myself here.” It’s an unbeatable feeling when home is safe, relaxing, and friendly. Unfortunately, lots of students don’t get that when they go home. For them, home is lonely-or worse.
Jesus knew what it was like not to have a home. His brothers and sisters weren’t exactly excited about his public ministry. They may have even labeled him the family laughingstock. Besides that, he was homeless as he traveled throughout Israel for the last three years of his earthly life (see Matthew 8:20). Given all that, where did he get his sense of belonging? Or, better yet, who gave it to him?
Jesus leaned on the undeniable fact that he belonged to his Father. He couldn’t see the Father any more than you can. But he knew his Father was with him, and that knowledge gave him a peace and security that kept him going.
Because Jesus is so secure in his Father’s love, he has strength to live in a less than-perfect situation. In other words, Jesus can live in your home, even if he finds your family members tough to get along with. And that’s a clue for you to succeed in less-than-swell circumstances. Jesus wants you to take him into your home and to be at home with him. If you check the first four books of the New Testament-the ones that tell about Jesus when he was here on earth-you find him constantly hanging out in people’s homes and working wonders even in weird situations.
At the very end of the Bible, Jesus says in the book of Revelation 3:20 “Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends.” He means those words for you. When you’re at home, he wants you to know that he is actually and perpetually there with you. When he says he wants to eat a meal with you, he’s saying he wants to talk to you and have you talk to him-like two close friends sitting across the table, chatting and visiting.
The more you enjoy Jesus’ friendship at home, the less lonely home becomes. You’re less aggravated and unsettled inside yourself because Christ makes you more at ease, more okay with your circumstances, whatever they are. The other people in your home might not change, but you have a close personal friend changing you and helping you to cope.
REFLECT: How does your family do at showing you the love of Jesus?
PRAY: Talk with Jesus right now about your home situation.
