It was the end of a long trip. We had moved to a new home a few months before, and we had still been settling in when we left. The time away had been good, with some exciting adventures but also with some difficulties. But as we drove back into town, we commented that we felt like we were coming home in a new way.

Similarly, we go through periods of change in our walk with God. Sometimes we face changes because we are following God faithfully into new and challenging places. Other times we face changes because in our wandering and sin we have turned away or distanced ourselves from God. Either way, we recognize that we are in unfamiliar territory.

But then, by God's grace, we return—and we discover that home is a gift. The Bible clearly presents our spiritual home with God as something we cannot achieve by our own efforts. Instead, we find ourselves at home when God comes to us. This happened when Christ came into the world to bring us salvation. It happens today through the work of Christ's Spirit in our hearts. And it will happen again at the end of history when the Lord returns to make his home with us forever. God will bring heaven to us, to wipe away all the signs of our homelessness. May we praise his name and rest in his gift to us each day.