Coming Home

Introduction

Have you ever longed to come home?

Not just back to a house—but back to the embrace of a parent, back to a place of belonging, back to the place where you’re fully known and fully loved?

The Bible tells us that grace leads us home. That’s what I want to talk about today.

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The White Rag on the Tree

A young man quarreled with his father until finally, he left home without saying goodbye. For years, he kept in touch with his mother but cut all ties with his dad.

Now Christmas was coming. He wanted to go home, but he wasn’t sure if his father would allow it. His mother urged him: “Come.” But he said, “Not until I know Dad has forgiven me.”

At last, there was no time for more letters. His mother promised to talk to Dad. She wrote: “If he has forgiven you, I will tie a white rag on the tree by the railroad tracks. When your train passes, look. If there’s no rag, just ride on by.”

On the train, the young man grew so nervous he couldn’t even look. He asked a stranger to sit in his place: “Please, when you see the big tree by my house, tell me—is there a rag or not?”

The stranger looked out. A long pause. Then in a soft voice he said, “Son, there is not just one rag. There is a white rag tied to every single limb of that tree.”

That is what John 3:17 says: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

Jesus didn’t come to condemn you. He came to save you. He came to bring you home.

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Civil War: “Home, Sweet Home”

After the bloody Battle of Fredericksburg, two great armies camped across the Rappahannock River. At twilight, the regimental bands began their usual musical duel. But this night, something happened.

The Union band began to play “Home, Sweet Home.” Almost immediately, the Confederate band joined in.

Everything stopped. Cards dropped. Pens fell. Books closed. Tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides listened in silence as the words swept over them:

“Mid pleasures and palaces, though we may roam,

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.”

When the last notes lingered, both sides erupted in wild cheering. Had it not been for the river between them, they might have ended the war that night.

Because every heart longs for home.

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Scripture: Manasseh Comes Home

Our text today is from 2 Chronicles 33. It’s the story of King Manasseh, son of good King Hezekiah. He became king at just twelve years old—and he couldn’t handle it.

He rebelled against his father’s faith. He turned to idols. He built altars to Baal, set up Asherah poles in the temple, bowed down to the stars, practiced sorcery and witchcraft, even sacrificed his own sons in fire to the god Molech.

The Assyrians eventually captured him. They put shackles on his hands and a hook in his nose. Picture this young king, stripped of power, dragged like an ox behind a wagon, led away to Babylon.

Everything was lost.

And in his distress, he prayed.

Listen to the Word of God:

“In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed to Him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so He brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.” (2 Chronicles 33:12–13)

Then Manasseh knew. Then Manasseh came home.

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Grace Plus Nothing

How do we get home? By grace.

Not grace plus works.

Not grace plus law.

Not grace plus merit.

Grace—plus nothing.

The Bible says: “By grace you have been saved through faith—and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)

Grace is not weak. Grace is the strongest force in the universe. It conquers sin, it heals wounds, it breaks chains, it brings us home.

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John Newton’s Story

John Newton knew about that grace.

As a boy, he memorized much of the New Testament. But after his mother died, he turned bitter. He mocked his father, wrote vile songs, lived in rebellion, and eventually became a cruel slave trader.

One day at sea, in the middle of a violent storm, Newton was struck down. He cried out to God—and grace found him.

Later, reflecting on his life, he penned the words that we still sing today:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.