Have you ever noticed how many Christmas songs and movies center on the idea of home? I can instantly think of two: the sound of Bing Crosby crooning, “I’ll be home for Christmas,” followed quickly by the memory of a movie of the same name starring my elementary school movie star crush, Jonathan Taylor Thomas. The two references span a few decades, but they both bear witness to an eternal concept: Home matters to us. We especially feel this at Christmas. We can’t argue with Bing and JTT.
But perhaps you are in a season of adjustment this holiday season. For those who are experiencing Christmas in a new place, it can feel unsettling to unbox decorations in an unfamiliar setting or upsetting to imagine another family living in the house that holds your memories. Maybe the lyrics “I’ll be home for Christmas” feel like empty, impossible words.
Where is the hope for the Christ-follower who doesn’t feel at home during the Christmas season?
Our Changing Homes Point Ahead
Although it may surprise you, that not-at-home feeling is deeply biblical. Ever since Eden, people have longed for home. Think of Abraham, that patriarch who famously left all that was familiar when God asked him to do so. This was a big ask, but Abraham believed that God’s way was the life-giving way, and so he followed.
Although he’d received the promise, its fulfillment was different from what he might’ve thought. In fact, the writer of Hebrews described Abraham’s family as people who were still “seeking a homeland” and considered themselves “temporary residents on the earth.” The writer said it’s as if they caught a glimpse of God’s promise—its fulfillment far away yet undeniably real—and they waved to it, the way you might wave to a friendly face you see in the distance. When it came to home, they didn’t set their sights on what was behind but on a “better place—a heavenly one” (Heb. 11:8-16).
If you, like Abraham, find yourself far from the place that feels like home, it may feel as if God has forgotten to lead you. But like Abraham, you can know your truest home isn’t behind—it’s ahead. Our homes may change, but we can wave to what has been promised. When Jesus returns, all who follow Him will be truly and forever home with Him!
Our Unchanging God Is Our Hiding Place
However, as we wave at God’s certain promise of home, it’s still challenging to endure not-at-home feelings and experiences. And yet, we can be comforted knowing that while our living situations change, God never does. The God of Abraham is the God of today. The God of the promised land is the God of every land—including the place you currently live. When you feel that pinch of homesickness, let it be an invitation to remember who He is as He’s revealed Himself through His Word. Perhaps it’s in the moments when the proverbial rug is yanked out under our feet that we best remember our solid foundation.
One foundational truth about God can be found in Psalm 119:114, in which the psalmist called the Lord his “hiding place” (ESV). Think about it like this: one of the qualities we all love about our homes is that we don’t have to be shiny within their walls. We can hide away from the pressures of the world, free to wear our oldest pajamas and leave our hair unkempt. In a similar way, God invites us to bring our full, un-shiny selves to Him in prayer.
Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Bring everything you’re thinking and feeling this Christmas season to the Lord in prayer. He promises to protect your heart and mind with His peace. You can trust that He is forever your hiding place, and you can retreat to Him in prayer whenever homesickness strikes.
Christ In and In Christ
We see this foundational “hiding place” concept take on richer meaning through Jesus. Consider these two comforting biblical phrases: “Christ in” and “in Christ.”
Verses like Romans 8:10, 2 Corinthians 13:5, and Galatians 2:20 use the language “Christ in” to describe the togetherness a believer has with Jesus. Any believer who feels far from home can meditate on the truth that Christ has made His home with her (John 14:23). My daughter has had a tendency to feel deep homesickness ever since an unexpected move when she was a little girl, and this concept has been so helpful for her. A few years ago, I wrote her a simple poem that says, “Any where/any when/you have home/you have Him.” Our souls settle a little when we remember the beautiful truth of “Christ in.”
Relatedly, verses like Romans 8:1, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and Galatians 3:26 use the language “in Christ” to describe another layer of togetherness with Christ. When the Father looks at us, He sees Jesus. He looks at us as His true child! Can you imagine the profound belonging we have because we are “in Christ”? Even if you’ve moved away from every familiar face, you have a true and forever belonging because of Jesus, no matter where you go.
Will you be “home” for Christmas? Because of Jesus, the Christ follower can answer yes by faith. We are never alone, never forsaken because Christ is in us. Moreover, we are in Christ, forever viewed by God as His true children, never unloved or unwanted, never despised, always belonging. It is all possible because Jesus left His heavenly home to make the way for all who look to Him to be included in His family forever. One day Jesus will return, and we will fully enjoy our true family and our true home. Until that day, we wave at the promises ahead, knowing our better home is not behind us—it’s ahead.
Trace the theme of home through Scripture with Caroline Saunders in her 7-session Bible study, Come Home. This study will affirm that our longing for home is good and purposeful, pointing us to our truest home which is found in Him. Learn more at lifeway.com/comehome.
ABOUT CAROLINE SAUNDERS
Caroline Saunders is a writer, Bible teacher, pastor’s wife, and mother of three who believes in taking Jesus seriously and being un-serious about nearly everything else. She loves to serve at her church (it’s not just the donuts), and every year, she retells the Bible’s big story at a women’s retreat that she and her friends offer local women through their parachurch ministry, Story & Soul. She’s had the joy of publishing two Bible studies for teen girls (Good News: How to Know the Gospel and Live It and Better Than Life: How to Study the Bible and Like It), two picture books for kids ages 4-8 (The Story of Water and The Story of Home), and two retellings of selected books of the Bible for elementary readers (Sound the Alarm and Remarkable). Find her writing, resources, and ridiculousness at WriterCaroline.com and on Instagram @writercaroline. (And finally, let it be known that Caroline’s kids said, “Mom can make a joke out of anything,” and so she ran and added that to her bio.)
