A Question of Home

Dedicated to Karis Moody~my beloved sister, I love you no matter how far away I am.

There is a popular saying: “Home is where the heart is.” Meaning no matter where you go, or whatever building you happen to reside in, your true home is with the people you love. However, that still brings up another question. What happens when the people you love are scattered? When your heart is stretched over thousands of miles, do you have more than one home? Or none?

If home is where the heart is, then I have so many homes. I have a home with my family in our beautiful house next to the church. The church itself is my home, and I have a multitude of homes all over Long Island. I have homes in Tennessee and Florida, with my grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins. And now, after this past year, I have homes spread out through not only the entire country, but over the globe as well. Forty-five new homes across the United States where my fellow World Racers reside. Homes in Cambodia and Thailand, South Africa and Guatemala, where we left all the people who, during the last nine months, made an impact on our lives. Each of these homes is a person who holds a part of my heart.

In the same way, Jesus loves us, and when we love Him, He comes and makes our heart His home.

”I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.“
Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬

Does Jesus have less love for any of His children because of our multitude? Is Jesus’ love spread thin over the eight billion people on Earth?

No!

His love is overflowing for each and every one of us. In the same way, He pours that love into our hearts so we can love in overflow as well.

My heart may have homes all over the world, but that does not mean that my love is spread thin, or that the new people that have found a place in my heart have taken away love from those that were there before.

In the same way, the new homes I have found do not discount the first ones. Long Island will always be precious to me. But I cannot physically reside in every single home I’ve made all the time. And that means there are choices I must make: if home is where the heart is, then which piece of my heart should I follow?

Looking at it from a worldly perspective, it is an impossible choice to make. And viewed from a worldly perspective, it could seem like a betrayal. It could seem like abandonment.

But there is another perspective.

My home is where my heart is, and my heart is first and foremost with Jesus. I will follow Him anywhere. I will go where He calls me.

I was kneeling during worship a month or two ago when images started coming to mind. I saw a map of the United States, and scattered across it were glowing white dots. There was a very large concentration of dots on Long Island. There were clusters in Tennessee, and then singular white dots in many states, each representing someone I love and care about. Family, friends who are currently finishing their first year of college, friends who I will split up from as we return to our homes on May 23rd.
And then the map expands, showing the whole world. I see one singular dot leave the country and travel over the Atlantic. Suddenly, red dots begin appearing, all over Europe and Asia and every other continent and country. Instead of a solitary dot here and there, these red dots are large in number and fill up all the space. They represent all the people of the world who still need to hear the good news about Jesus. The image zooms in on the dot that crossed the ocean alone, and I see myself, living overseas and sharing Jesus’ love with the people who don’t know Him. Everyone I love, all my glowing dots, are across the ocean. But I am serving the Lord. I am going where He calls me.

In Mark 8:34-35, Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.“

In this version of life, I travel alone. I have no husband and no children. I spend my life telling people about Jesus. And in the next image that comes up, I am on my knees as someone points an arrow at me and tells me to renounce my faith, or they will shoot. I then find myself standing before the Lord, seeing all the people to whom He sent me standing around as our Savior looks into my eyes and speaks a line from the song ‘The Prodigal’, by Josiah Queen: “Well done…welcome home.”

These images were not visions of the future. I’m not saying that any of that is going to happen, or that this is what the Lord has for me. Instead, it was a question.

Would you be willing? Jesus asked. If I called you away from everyone, if I called you to give up everything, even your very life, would you follow Me?

It is not the first time He has brought that question to my mind. For years, I have wondered if my faith would be able to stand the test. And I was never able to give an honest answer.

That is because a decision like that cannot be made unless Jesus is truly the foundation of your life and at the forefront of your heart. A ‘yes’ like that cannot come from obligation. It must come from love, from truly believing that the home of your heart is found in Jesus’ own.

It was not the first time He had asked me that question. But it was the first time that my answer was an honest, “Yes.”

If He calls me away, I will go. It will involve sacrifice. It will hurt. But I will follow the commands my Savior gives me. And it doesn’t mean I love any of those white dots any less. You will always be in my heart. You will always be my home.

I believe Jesus is calling me to go into long-term missions. I do not know where, and I do not know when. As of right now, I return to the United States a week from today, and it’s not like I have a set date to leave the country again. But when He calls me, I will go. And no matter where He calls me, I will follow.

If my home is where my heart is, then I have many homes on Earth. My heart is with all of you. But our ultimate home is not on Earth, and no matter the path He leads me on during this life, I love you all and I hope to be standing beside you when we arrive at our true home and feel the truest love our hearts will ever experience, as our Savior smiles at us and speaks.

“Well done…welcome home.”