Longing for Home

After being away most of last week to see family and friends in Mississippi, I am back, and thinking about what it means to long for home. In Keller's The Prodigal God, he says, "Home... is a powerful but elusive concept.... In the beginning of the book of Genesis we learn the reason why all people feel like exiles, like we aren't really home.... It is no coincidence that story after story contains patterns of exile. The message of the Bible is that the human race is a band of exiles trying to get home. The parable of the prodigal son is about every one of us." It is a story that creates in us a longing for a merciful Father who will embrace us and welcome us. In the gospel, Jesus is the one who is sent from home (heaven) in order to bring us home. He is the good elder brother who seeks and saves the lost, giving his own life to secure the way home for those who are willing to live by grace.