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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? - John 14:2

When Mary gave birth to her firstborn son, she wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn. That would be a consistent theme throughout his life on earth. Jesus reminded his disciples that foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but he had nowhere to lay his head. The life that he led was neither restful nor comfortable. The lack of hospitality he received while on earth is a reminder that he was not at home in this world.

Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. He came to provide a place of rest even for those who despised and rejected him. By faith in the Son of God, we become adopted children of God the Father. That’s how we’re able to pray to “Our Father, which art in heaven.” We don’t deserve a place in the Father’s house, but because of Jesus we can be assured of a warm welcome at a feast in his presence in heaven.

Do you feel at home here? Does this world bring you all the peace and rest you desire? Or do you have a haunting homesickness that this world can’t satisfy? Your nostalgia that can’t be fulfilled here points to a home in a place beyond the limitations of this present fallen world. The good news of Christmas is that Jesus came to earth to call us out of the depths of our ruin and into the peaceful presence of God to behold his glorious face forever.

Song: In The Bleak Midwinter