The Hutts are homeless. Two weeks ago we official closed on our home. The little plot of land on Battleview Dr in central Indiana that we owned (well that the bank owned) is no longer ours to claim as home.

It was a joyful yet sorrowful day for us. Sarah and I have really been missing home. We loved that house. Selling it encourages me to yearn all the more to my eternal home.

It will be a day I will not have to live out of a suitcase anymore! For the past 5-months, we have lived out of suitcases and our Honda Element [aka: the toaster]. I am reminded that it’s only the beginning of our travels, but in the span of eternity it’s only a blade of grass in prairie. Home is truly an organic idea. It is an idea that is continually growing and changing in my mind:

Home is where your heart is

As Sarah and I now have our sights less on our earthly plot and more on our eternal kingdom the idea of having an earthly castle lacks luster. As Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” [Matthew 6:21]

Although we have sold our home we still have over 12 large tubs of keepsakes in storage. The tubs are filled with items we have grown to love and hold dear. As important as it is to us we cannot take it with us. And as my youth pastor said growing up, “You don’t see hearses pulling U-Haul’s behind them.” My stuff will stay behind. I learned this lesson the hard way last month when my external hard drive was dropped and I lost all our family photos and videos. In a moment all those memories vanished. I suppose it would have happened later through disaster or death. Stuff stinks, but it does give clues to where your heart is. Or where you are at home.

Home is now and later

Paul considered himself a citizen of Rome [Acts 16:37, 22:25-29; cf. Romans 13:1-7] and Heaven [Philippians 3:20; Ephesians 2:19]. Although being a citizen of Rome had meaning, being a citizen of heaven was of more importance. You could say he was a patriot of Rome, but the banner he waved was of the kingdom of Christ. Jesus also honored His earthly authority [Matthew 22:15-22; 26:50-68], but ultimately submitted Himself to His Father in Heaven. It is not wrong to embrace home here on earth as long as it doesn’t compare to the embrace heaven has on you.

Home here doesn’t compare to your eternal home there

Jesus was homeless. He didn’t know where He would lay His head on a give night [Luke 9:58]. A few years ago, I read the book, Heaven, by Randy Alcorn. Throughout the book I was amazed that Heaven is not so much a place where I will see old loved ones, see breathtaking streets, see no pain, death, or sin, but it’s a place where I will behold my Savior Jesus Christ in all His glorious splendor. I see glimpses of him here and now in creation, in people, in His mighty works, and in His Word, but it will not compare to the day when all will be zeroed on Him as the centerpiece of Zion.

Home is promised is a place of comfort and security

What I miss about my home most is having a refuge from the from the world. Inside I feel cozy and safe. When you think about it heaven, it’s all that but in its fullness. Home is a place I long to be. There is a sense of comfort and security about being home. The danger is that I will begin to see my temporary home as comfortable or secure and not see my Heaven as incomparable and glorious. This world is not my home. God in heaven is my home. He has a better country. He is preparing a place that makes our home seem like a squared camp. To desire God is to desire a better country, that is a heavenly home.

Home without Christ is no home at all

You are truly homeless if you do not have a relationship with Christ,

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 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. And you know the way to where I am going.” [John 14:1-4]

It is a little weird not having a house anymore. Sarah and I miss our little pad with a garden and maple saplings that we planted with our own hands. It was our first home as a family.

I am thankful for what this season of the year celebrates: the Son of God left His home above, entered our homes, and paid our huge mortgage debt (of sin) so that you and I could have the promise of entering His home one glorious day. I look forward to the day He will welcome me home [Matthew 25:21ff].