You should know God’s Word like the back of your hand and find yourself at home in its pages. Ask God for help to make his Word your strong refuge and a place where you love to dwell.
Last fall I had a chance to visit my childhood home in Maryland.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and back in September Ken and I traveled east to be with my sisters, all of whom are older than I am. It was a blessed time getting updated, sharing memories, stories, praying together with lots of hugs. And during my time in Maryland, I had the chance to drive by Poplar Drive in the small town of Woodlawn. We stopped the van and I got out to look at the old house. The family sold it back in 1991 after my father passed away. Somebody else owns it now. I wheeled up to the back door and called out, hoping that – I don’t know – somebody might’ve been home. I really would have loved to see the inside of the house. But there was no answer and no car in the driveway. And so, I wheeled back to the sidewalk to turn and just look at the homestead, take it all in, imagining that the new owners probably repainted the living room or redid the kitchen or knocked out walls. I glanced around the lawn and was sorry to see that my mother’s azalea garden had weeds and the bushes were untrimmed.
I guess it happens in most families, but I don’t know, looking at that home was like losing a good friend. Because I know that old house like the back of my hand; I remember how the linoleum tile used to squeak by the washing machine. I know the way the rafters creak on a cold night. I remember how many minutes my sister could be in the shower before the hot water would run out. I know the smell of the cedar closets and the way the living room looked when moonlight streamed through the windows.
Poplar Drive will always be home to me, at least in my memory, because there really is no place like home, whether your home is a house or an apartment. Home could be a person, a special friend. Home could be somewhere out in the country or a favorite spot in the woods nearby.
Home really is wherever your heart resides. When I looked at that old homestead of mine, I could not help but think how much of my heart is still there. I looked up into the window where I knew my bedroom was, and I still recall all those times at night: summer times, the window would be open, I would hear the breeze rustling through the trees, and I’d hear owls calling in the night. It just made me feel so at home. You know, I think that’s why people call heaven home. The Apostle Paul says in Colossians 3, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.” He was reminding us that Scripture should find a home in our hearts; we should live in it, abide in it, and do so, richly. Much like our family, and Poplar Drive, we should know God’s Word like the back of our hand.
I know one dear old saint who has lived comfortably in the Word of God for 75 years. He not only quotes chapter after chapter of his old Bible; he can tell you where the verses appear on those tattered pages. When it comes to God’s Word, this man is at home. To him, the Bible is not something he visits occasionally, like a vacation spot. No, he lives there. And, oh, I long to be like him. To not only make heaven and Jesus my home, but to make God’s Word my warm and restful sanctuary, a strong refuge, a place where I love to dwell. And I pray the same for you, friend. Wherever life takes you, your true home can be as close as your heart; it can be as close as that Bible right on your desk, on your bedside table, tucked away in your back pocket – your Bible, right there. So today, flip it open and get comfortable, and welcome yourself home.
© Joni and Friends