Devotionals

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“Home – Heart or Hearth?”




One could say, “ Home is where the hearth is.” This conjures up a vision of a blazing fireplace denoting warmth emanating from a “home,” Somewhere, U.S.A.
If we go a step further we could even envision it being a happy home.

From this antique Christmas card scene, you imagine a mother loved by their father and encircled in the love of their children, albeit his/hers, theirs, or an adoptee. They realize they are all adopted into the family of God, so to them home is refuge, a safe place, a “be yourself” type of place where you are unconditionally loved.

Nice picture, isn’t it? This picture is now fading in your mind and a flurry of puzzle pieces flood the scene. As the pieces are swirling, they each appear to have their own destination on a large board, coming down and fitting perfectly together. The ensuing images appear as little vignettes around the puzzle.

Your eyes are drawn to the first scene in the upper right hand corner where there is a bewildered, confused look on a child’s face, as he is torn between two homes, two moms, and two dads. He is suffering from the backwash of his parents’ past choices, leaving him with two homes and a divided heart.

Going on down to the bottom right corner there is a heartbreaking scene of a lone child on a doorstep twisting and turning a key. This child knows that the minute this door opens, he/she will step into a cold empty shell of a house. The single parent is desperately working two jobs taking up the slack from the missing parent due to death, divorce, or other diverse circumstances.

Your falling eyes reach the middle of the bottom of the puzzle where a child is huddled, shivering in an empty bedroom, receiving as much warmth as an antiquated radiator can give. Being shuffled from place to place, tears frequently fall down his neglected, abused face with a doubt that there ever really is something called a “home.”

On the bottom left hand side is an image of an elderly, widowed lady feeling like a childless mother a long way from home. She is lonely. There are no letters, phone calls, or visits from the children into whom she poured her life. She keeps one ear to the phone, one eye to the window, and the other eye watching the door. The feeling of being useful at one time in a home has changed to one of being useless in a large house.

In the upper left hand corner there are grief-stricken, agonized faces screaming at you, pleading for help from the devastation of their homes where all is lost, even hope. Behind them is written in large red letters “Rita” and “Katrina.” The definition of a home to these victims can be neither named, nor defined.

The top left-hand corner picture is of a man standing before Jesus asking him if he could join His little band of disciples. Jesus, knowing the man’s heart, says, “The foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20 NIV)

In this next scene, this same man’s eyes are peering toward the faithful disciples. They all left the security of an earthly home, and their thoughts are now focused on a heavenly cause of gaining bricks to be used in building the Kingdom of God. Their permanent home is a mansion built for them just over the hillside, on the other side. The man is sadly turning around walking away. He is counting the cost and he figures it is too high a price to pay.

In the middle background of the puzzle is a man standing at a door where there is no outside latch. This man’s brightness sheds light onto the surrounding pictures and he is knocking. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)

The entire puzzle challenges the Webster’s and “Christmas card” definition of a home. Will you accept this challenge?

Home: Not only a temporary place wherever your head lies, but also a permanent place in your heart, secure in knowing you are exactly where you should be in God’s will on your journey to your permanent home with Jesus.

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