Searching For Home

Some say, “Home is where the heart is.” What is home? John Ed Pearce, long-time writer for the Courier-Journal, stated, “Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to.” I’ve entitled our message this morning, “Searching for Home,” and I’m addressing this topic because in today’s society it appears that many people are searching for home, or searching for some sense of belonging. You hear people say, “I’m trying to find myself,” but I believe they’re trying to find something greater than themselves; they’re trying to find home.

Listen as I share some dictionary definitions of “home.” Home is “where one lives or where one’s roots are; where you live at a particular time; the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end; a place where something began and flourished; an environment offering affection and security; and an institution where people are cared for.”(1) I am sure a few of these definitions resonated deeply with some of you, especially the ones that relate to belonging, flourishing, and being cared for.

“During World War II, housing was in short supply. A lady with good intentions expressed sympathy to a little girl whose family did not live in a house. She said, ‘It’s too bad your family doesn’t have a home.’ The five-year-old replied, ‘We have a home. We just don’t have a house to put it in’.”(2) It’s been said, “A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.” I believe that people are tired of houses, the ones built by the world’s empty promises, and the ones we build for ourselves; all houses of cards, waiting to tumble down around us. We don’t want any more houses, we want a home; and today, from God’s Word, we will discover our true home.

This World Is Not Our Home (Hebrews 11:8-10, 13-16)

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God . . .

13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

It’s been said that today’s writers – songwriters, play writers, etc. – are the bards of our time. If we’ll just listen closely we can hear in their words the concerns of our own society. I’m going to share with you today some of their words. For example, in the movie “Patch Adams,” Hunter Adams said, “All of life is a coming home – salesmen, secretaries, coal miners, beekeepers, sword swallowers, all of us – all the restless hearts of the world, all trying to find a way home.”(3) He continued to say, “I had lost the right path. Eventually I would find the right path, but in the most unlikely place.”(4)

For many of us, we can feel lost, heading down a never-ending path to nowhere. We can feel the darkness of loneliness, isolation, and emptiness, and all we want is a place of rest and security; we want a home. Patch Adams declared, “All of life is a coming home,” but he also confessed how he felt lost. How many of us are searching for home, but we don’t know the way? Some of us are lost and we need a Guide; or rather, we need a Savior to lead us there. Others know the Guide and have caught a glimpse of home, but they’ve taken their eyes off Him because of the world’s empty distractions. The bottom line is that many people in this world are searching for home.

In Hebrews 11:8, we read how Abraham journeyed toward his promised inheritance, not knowing exactly where he was going; he just got up and went. He was headed to a Promised Land, or a promised home. In Genesis 12:1, we discover that when Abraham journeyed he left something behind. The Lord said, “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.” Abraham left behind his country, his family, and his father’s house. In other words, he left all that he’d grown up with and all he’d ever known. He had a home and he abandoned it at God’s command! Why? Because God promised him a better home!