December 6, 2017

For many people, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” is more than a song or a dream – it is a commitment. I remember those college days when getting home to Colorado for Christmas was a priority worth driving hundreds of miles on roads covered with snow and ice. It did not feel right to be away from home on Christmas.

A few months after our wedding, we enjoyed our first Christmas at home – our own home. As much as we love our families, we did not feel a need to travel to the places where we grew up. We were home on Christmas and it was wonderful. Through the years, there have been occasions when it was appropriate to be away from our home on that special day of the year, but most of the time, we just want to be home.

I have been pondering the thought that on the first Christmas, Jesus was away from Home. Along with Mary and Joseph, who would have preferred to be in their quiet Nazareth rather than in the overcrowded Bethlehem, Jesus had left the comforts of Heaven to be born into our world – in a barn. That seems about as undesirable a place to spend Christmas as one could imagine.

Jesus had to leave His Home in order for us to eventually leave our Planet Earth home to be eternally in His Home. Actually, followers of Jesus are temporary dwellers here, so in reality, we are away from Home now and Jesus is at Home. Our hope is to one day be at Home where He is.

The desire of college days to be home for Christmas no longer exists – it is not even an option. And the enjoyment of being with Carol in our home is more precious each year. But to someday be at Home with Jesus is beyond my imagination. Away from this home to be “at Home with the Lord” brings me joy.

Pastor Bill Ehmann