Our True Home

Bible Reading: John 14:3; Philippians 3:20

Samira wove red yarn through the vertical strands on the loom, then tapped the knots down with the beating comb her mother had brought from Afghanistan. She had been helping her mother make Kilim rugs for years. Samira loved weaving red, navy, and brown yarn into diamond-shaped patterns. The rugs sold well at the artisan market, making her proud of her work.

But tonight, Samira had a lot on her mind. “I’m not sure I belong here,” she told her mother as she wove more yarn through the strands. “I have lots of friends at school, but I feel different from them. Why is that? I’ve lived here most of my life. I don’t even remember Afghanistan!”

“Well, you’re right—we don’t belong here.” Samira’s mom wrapped the red yarn over the white wool strands and twisted. “But we don’t belong in Afghanistan either. We are Christians, and our home is with Jesus. He became one of us and then died for our sins and rose again so we could have a place in God’s kingdom. That’s where we belong—more than any country where we were born or where we live now. Our true home is God’s kingdom. But for now, we must wait in a broken world until Jesus returns to get rid of sin and death and make all things new.”

Samira stopped weaving. “Why didn’t we wait for Jesus in Afghanistan?”

Mom put her beating comb down and turned to Samira. “While waiting for Jesus, our job is to share what we know about Him with others. We tried to do that in Afghanistan, but it was very dangerous. Here, we can read the Bible and worship Jesus without worry of being put in jail or worse. I’m so thankful Jesus brought us to a place that is safer, and I look forward to the day when all His people will be safe forever with Him. In the meantime, Jesus is with us, no matter where we live, because we belong to Him.”

Samira smiled and turned back to her weaving. “I’m happy to be from Afghanistan,” she said. “I’m happy to weave beautiful rugs. I’m happy to live here. But I’m really happy to be a Christian, a child of God!”

-Bonnie Carr

How About You?

Do you sometimes feel like you don’t fit in where you live? It could be a new home you have moved to, or it may be the same place you’ve always lived. As Christians, we know that Jesus is King over the whole world and that He is with us no matter where we live or what we go through. We are part of a kingdom and family that lasts forever. That’s where we truly belong.

Today’s Key Verse: Philippians 3:20 Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. (CSB)

Today’s Key Thought:

Jesus’s kingdom is our home