“Come on in!”

I often take the privilege of being welcomed into someone else’s home for granted. Under normal circumstances, a person’s home is their safe space, their refuge. It’s where people go to find protection and even escape the world. To be invited into a home is to be invited into a person’s heart.

Hospitality is a powerful gift to the outsider. Few gestures are quite so charming as having someone greet you at their door and usher you inside. The thought probably evokes warm memories of particular friends who have opened their homes to you.

Jesus’ return to glory through his death and resurrection opened the door to God’s kingdom for you and me.  Because of that, we can come into his house.  One of God’s great promises is that of John 14:2 “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?” Sanctified by Christ’s blood, we are invited into his home to enjoy his presence. But we will not be temporary visitors there.  His home will become our home, and his heart will become our heart.  By his great love, we will enjoy the safety and protection of the refuge he has established for us.  By his great love, we will have a home.