by Arthur Brown

Where is home for you? On the surface this is perhaps a simple question, but for many of us, if we reflect more deeply, maybe it’s not quite so straightforward. We may have moved house, location, or country many times; lived in different places where we have put roots down to different levels; created lives and memories that have influenced who we are today and who we will be in the future. We may have ancestral roots which speak to our notion of home and identity, even if we no longer, or have never lived in those places. I still consider Lebanon to be home despite the fact that we left in 2018.

Maybe home speaks to us of our childhood, where we grew up and hopefully were nurtured within a loving family. Of course this is not the case for all of us, and for some, the reality of broken homes lives deep.

And what, then, of those who have been forced to leave their home for any number of reasons? How might they experience their relationship with “home”? And for those whose home may consistently be temporary: those on journeys, whether forced or not.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of the end of June 2024 there were approximately 122.6 million people who have been forced to leave their homes as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order – or a combination of these. About 43.7 million of these were refugees, 72.1 million were internally displaced people and 8 million were asylum-seekers. These figures do not include those who have needed to leave as a result of climate or environmental devastation. UNHCR further states that:

There are also 4.4 million stateless people, who have been denied a nationality and lack access to basic rights such as education, health care, employment and freedom of movement.[1]

These are all people, created in the image of God, for whom “home” has been violently disrupted for a variety of reasons.

 What does “home” mean for you?

What would you consider to be some of the characteristics which make a “good” home? Home might mean:

• the place where you live
• a safe haven – somewhere comfortable and secure
• a place to live with our families and enjoy with friends – a welcoming place of hospitality
• a place to build memories, as well as a way to build future wealth or financial security
• a place where we can truly just be ourselves – where you don’t need to wear a mask, or pretend to be someone you are not
• a place of connection…of close relationships.

A biblical / theological view of “home”

The Apostle John – writing from the island of Patmos as a forcibly displaced person who was taken from his home due to religious persecution – writes in the book of Revelation,

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.[2]  And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them and be their God;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)

This is the future-facing hope – that God will ultimately make his home among us. We will reside together in a new earth, in which the kingdoms of Heaven and Earth become aligned and connected as envisioned in Revelation 21.

Yet looking back, to the very beginning, it is clear that God’s intention was always to live among us. Genesis 3:8 says, “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”

God was there, in and with His creation.

However, as we know, this close presence was disrupted, and the comfort and coziness of a shared home was ruptured. And yet as we look at the arc of scripture we see God’s desire to be “at home” in His creation, perhaps as a foretaste of what is to come, as we see in John’s Revelation.

We see the Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting – a portable sanctuary, designed as a dwelling place for God, with His people who are “on the move.” And of course the incarnation of Christ clearly expresses God’s desire to live with His creation, redeem His creation and seek its ultimate transformation, making possible the future vision of homeliness expressed by the Apostle John. God, in Christ, showed up and “The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood,” to quote from the Message translation of John 1:14. Or, from the Amplified translation: “The Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory.” This is perhaps the ultimate expression of God’s desire for a close relationship with humanity. One in which those who had been excluded from being “at home” within the old covenant, are invited to be “at home” as part of the Kingdom/home of God.

Of course, it is clearly seen that the world we call home continues to be a broken one. The statistics above speak to that, but of course there are many reasons why people experience contexts which have become “uninhabitable” as a result of evil that is so prevalent in our world.

But what seems to be clear is that it is God’s ultimate desire to be “at home” with His creation, albeit a renewed creation, in peace and with justice. And He continues to encourage and empower His people, the church, in the shared endeavour to be “home makers” – to create “home” here on earth (as it is in Heaven). Sam Ewell, in his book Faith Seeking Conviviality, explores this idea helpfully, when he talks of the church being a community which seeks to prolong the incarnation: to continue to express in tangible ways the life and work of Jesus. This is at the heart of the church when it views itself as a missional community, creating home for anyone and everyone who accepts Christ’s invitation. The term “home maker” is one that conjures up many images that may not in our minds relate to the Creator of the universe and King of Kings. It may, however, be a more accessible idea to many than that of “building the Kingdom of God on earth,” which of course we are more familiar with.

And I would suggest that we – humanity – are all homesick for the type of home we look forward to: a place of security, belonging, and flourishing. A place of welcome and hospitality, of diversity and beauty.

In conclusion, there are some questions we may want to consider. What might joining this home-making endeavour look like where you are? Each context will be different, but maybe we should start by asking ourselves if our own homes are places we welcome people into, even strangers (as we too are strangers in a strange land)? Who is included within our local churches, and who is not made quite so welcome? How do we, as the church, show up and stand against injustice that means others cannot feel safe and welcomed? Whose needs are met? Do we advocate for those who have been forced to flee their homes?

For those of you who might be intrigued by the theological theme of “home,” I would encourage you to engage with the work of Miroslav Volf and Ryan McAnnally-Linz in their excellent book The Home of God: A Brief Story of Everything.

Arthur Brown is the Director for Mission with BMS World Mission. BMS mobilizes people, resources, and skills across the Global Church to share the good news of Jesus and practical hope where they’re needed most. Previously Arthur served at ABTS for thirteen years. (Best years of his life!) He is married to Louise, has four children, and currently lives in South Oxfordshire, UK.

[1] https://www.unhcr.org/us/about-unhcr/figures-glance

[2] The sea, for John, represented isolation – separation from his community of Christ followers – so the fact there would no longer be sea, [separation / dislocation / broken relationality] is significant in his words.