“Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays.” For many, the lyrics to this old Christmas song ring true. The word “home” conjures memories of loving family members, the warm kitchen scented by recently baked pies, laughter around the dinner table, after-dinner board games, and all-around fun. For many though, this isn’t what “home” means. Some grew up in abusive or otherwise unhappy homes. For others, a once-happy home is now broken by divorce or death. Perhaps the children have grown up, moved away, and no longer come home for the holidays. “Home” just isn’t what it used to be, and being home for the holidays doesn’t really sound like the ideal plan. In my case, a few years ago my parents died within six weeks of each other; my mom just after Thanksgiving and my dad just after New Years. Strangers now live in my childhood home (unless they’ve torn it down and built a new one), and my siblings are scattered all over the country. While I love living in my little house next door to my best friends, it still isn’t quite the same as “going home” to the home where I grew up. Holidays look a lot different now.

Fortunately, regardless of what the word “home” means to each of us in earthly terms, God is preparing a perfect, joyous, eternal home that is big enough for all of us. The same Jesus who told a prospective follower “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matt 8:20, Luke 9:58) also said “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:2-3). During His ministry years, it seems that Jesus didn’t have an earthly home filled with scents of freshly-baked pie and sounds of happy family members either, but He knew His real home wasn’t here. He was already aware of His Father’s many-roomed home in heaven. And yes, it is a home, not a giant impersonal Travelodge. I don’t know if there will be a big warm pie-scented kitchen or post-prandial board games, but I do know that it is going to be the most perfect, most loving, best home ever. And we get to live there for all eternity!

For all followers of Christ, our real home is with Him. We look forward to eternity in our heavenly home, but we can also rest in knowing He is with us here on earth too. When we feel a bit out of place, like we don’t know where we belong, we can turn to Him. When our earthly families don’t quite match up with the Cleavers on “Leave It to Beaver,” we can abide with Jesus, the only perfect family member ever born on this earth. When we wish we could go “home” and be welcomed with open arms and happy voices crying out “welcome, welcome, we are so glad you are here,” we can find comfort in knowing this is exactly what God says each time we seek His presence.

            Perhaps you haven’t sought God’s presence for a long time. It feels like you knew Him once, but haven’t been “home” for a very, very long time. Perhaps, like Jonah, or the younger son in the parable of the Prodigal Son, you purposely ran away from your Heavenly Father. Some days, you wonder what it would be like to return to your Father’s open arms, but you feel like you’ve been gone too long. You’ve done too many things, maybe you’ve even purposely sought other gods. You feel like you can’t go back now. It would be embarrassing. You’re too ashamed. You feel like God probably wouldn’t accept you and His people would probably make you feel as if you don’t belong. Well, let me tell you about a guy I know. He used to be a Satanist. Yep, he actually worshiped the enemy. His wife met Jesus though, and dragged this guy to church. Guess what? God still wanted him. In fact, now he’s a beloved pastor in that same church where he was first dragged in by his wife!

            Maybe your issues aren’t quite that dramatic, but anxiety just won’t release the hold it has on you. You worry about finances, politics, relationships, your kids, your job. When you go to bed, your worries turn on as soon as the lights turn off. It seems like you can’t even remember the last time you woke up feeling truly rested.

            The amazing thing about God is that He is eagerly waiting to meet us where we are. If you grew up going to church every week, but then ran away, He will welcome you with open arms. If you flat out rejected Him, but then decided later that maybe you shouldn’t have done that, He will welcome you with open arms. If you still go to church, but maintain what you consider to be a healthy skepticism, He’s waiting for you with open arms. If you had a lousy earthly father and the words “God the Father” make you want to flee, He’s still waiting with open, loving arms. If you feel like everything about you is wrong, He’s waiting to embrace you and tell you that you are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). If anxiety has a stronghold in your life, He’s waiting to bless you with His rest. Jesus is fully human as well as fully divine. In the words of those (somewhat cringy) NFL Jesus ads, He gets you. He very intentionally chose to hang out with people just like you and me during His years on earth. Hebrews 4:15 tells us “For we do not have a high priest who in unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

            The bottom line is that God loves you and He really, really wants you to come home. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been and what you’ve done. Jesus came to this earth to take care of all those things that keep us from being good enough. There is not a single one of us that is good enough without Jesus. That includes those imperfect people that you fear might judge you and make you feel unwanted. As the apostle Paul noted, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23, emphasis mine). With that in mind, every “you” in all those descriptions in the previous paragraph should really be “we” or “us.” Sometimes I wonder why God even wants a relationship with all of us messed up humans. I guess the only answer to that is Love. The “big L” kind of Love. Love that loves us no matter where we’ve been or what we’ve done.

            I’m writing this just before the new year begins. I’m not a fan of New Year’s resolutions, but I am a huge fan of new beginnings. Are you longing for a new beginning? Desperately wishing for Someone to help you with your anxiety, grief, guilt, shame, despair? Jesus is waiting! More than anything, He wants you to release those burdens to Him. He has big shoulders; He can take it. As you look toward the quickly approaching new year, will you bravely take that first step? Go ahead, make a move toward Him. He will meet you there, regardless of the baggage you are bringing with you. He will welcome you with open arms and a big divine bear hug. Just come home.

p.s. If you are looking for a great place to start, commit to reading the Gospel of John during the month of January (or any other month for that matter). It’s a great way to get acquainted (or reacquainted) with Jesus.