Come Home This Christmas

I was putting the Christmas decorations up a week or so ago with my wife and children. Whilst enjoying a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie with the fire roaring in the fireplace and Michael Buble's Christmas Album playing in the background I took a moment and thanked God for His goodness to me. Unfortunately we didn't have room for all the chocolate decorations on the tree as well as all the others so my daughter and I just had to eat the last two. (my baby son is too little for chocolate - or at least that is what daddy told him!) This was not far from a perfect morning at home. Rest and relaxation, great fun and great company.

A good home is a place of rest, fulfilment, family, protection, nurture, joy and safety.

Jesus promises that He and the Father will make Their home with us.

John 14:23

‘Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.’

We know that God loves us, but more than that He wants to make His home with us. For this to happen He is looking for His children to keep His word. This word ‘keep’ does not mean that before God will make His home with us we must obey every word He has spoken from Genesis to Revelation. No the idea is that those who desire above all things to put His Word first, to cherish what He says above the voices of circumstance and negativity then the door of your heart is open to Him to come in and make His home with you. When God makes His home with us it is the start of abundant life, a life of fulfillment in His purpose for us. Just as it was announced by the angels when Jesus made His home with us for the first time at the first Christmas.

“Glory to God in the highest,

      And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Luke 2:14

A life of peace and a life of the good will of God being seen.

There are times when I wonder what happened to this life of fulfillment – this life as God lives life.

But when I stop for a moment and turn to the Lord in Me, In His Word and in His Presence the veil is taken away and I realize the reason I am not enjoying life regardless of circumstance is that my focus is misplaced and my energies misspent.

With Jesus at the centre of my heart I rediscover the solid foundation of fulfillment in Him as an anchor for my soul.

We need to heed the call to come home to Him more often than we do.

Then we will enjoy the reality of these verses

‘The Lord is faithful to all His promises and has compassion on all he has made’ Psalm 145:13

‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.’

James 1:16

Rom 5:5

^‘Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.’

In Patch Adams, the movie starring Robin Williams just before it ends Patch declares: “All of life is a coming home. Salesmen, secretaries, coalminers, beekeepers, sword swallowers, all of us. All the restless hearts of the world trying to find a way home.

May you make room in your life in the midst of the busyness to be persuaded and perceive that God Almighty – Love Himself has made His home in your heart. May you abide, live, and remain immersed in His Love.

May you find rest in Him. May you come home to Him this Christmas.