“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:12, NIV).

Darlene Deibler Rose wrote a wonderful autobiography describing her life as a newlywed missionary in New Guinea, followed by four years in a Japanese prison camp during the war. Much of the book is filled with amazing faith and powerful God stories, but one passage especially struck me early in her story. Her husband was the first Christian missionary to penetrate the mountainous jungle and reach the Kapauku people, nearly losing his life in the trek. Darlene was later granted permission to return with him to establish a mission there. Her journey was also extremely difficult, but I was struck much more by her words on arriving at the Kapauku village than on the journey itself: “My cheeks streaked with tears, I started running down the mountainside, singing at the top of my lungs, ‘I’m home. I’m home!’” ¹

How do we know when we are home?

We all seek it. We often define home in our transient world as a house where our family lives. Darlene Deibler Rose knew she was home with the Kapauku, but there was no house, no mother, no father and no siblings to welcome her in. Or were they? In the Gospel of Mark, when Jesus’ mother and brothers came to take Him home because they thought He might be insane, Jesus stood up among His followers and declared, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does my God’s will is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:34b-35, NIV).

In our transient world, when defining home, family should certainly be at its deepest meaning, but for Darlene, “home” meant even more. Home is where we find ourselves in the center of God’s will, because that is where we walk most closely with the One who called us there. Home is where God stands with His arms open saying, “Welcome. Let’s do this together.” Home is where Jesus is. Home is where His people are. Home is where our mission lies.

I often ask myself if I have wandered from that home in seeking my own goals for life. The answer is too often, “Yes.” Many of us have stepped away from His path at times, but we need not wander forever.  One of my favorite pastors once told me how he counseled those who had drifted away and were struggling to find their way back into the clear presence of God. His words still give me great hope, “I don’t know when it will happen, or where it will happen, but if you put your trust in the Shepherd and don’t give up, someday He will find you and bring you home.”

Dear Father,

Keep me home with you.

Amen

¹Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose, published by Harper One, 1988