Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

John 14:23

I know not everyone feels this way, but I love having company over, especially good friends. There’s just something festive to me when we are bustling about, getting the house ready to receive guests, with the smells of good food and dessert being prepared. What I love even more is when people know us well enough that when they arrive they make themselves right at home. You don’t need to ask me where the bathroom is, you already know. If you want something from the fridge, you just grab it and have a seat. I love that kind of familiarity because it’s a testimony to the kind of closeness that’s been developed in our relationship. 

Jesus wants us to understand this kind of closeness that He and the Father have with those who love Him and keep His word. There’s a familial bond that happens when we repent of our sins, believe that gospel, and become sons and daughters of the King. We’re not merely subjects in His court, but we are His temple where Father, Son and Holy Spirit take up residence. 

If you’re like me, you love to be home around the holidays. Travel can be fun too, but wherever we’re going, most of us are just waiting for the moment when we’ve reached our destination and we can settle in with family and friends. Wherever we call home is the place we feel most at ease with ourselves and our surroundings. It’s the place we can truly be ourselves, without needing to feel the pressure to perform or be somebody we’re not. It’s the reason why Christmas is portrayed in books, magazines, postcards, and movies as scenes from a living room filled with warm fires, cheerful lights, colorful gifts and family members enjoying the inviting comforts of home. 

Is it hard for you to imagine the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit wanting to make their home with you? I think it is for me. When I look at myself, I can experience a lot of guilt and shame to the point that sometimes it’s impossible to imagine anyone wanting to be within twenty miles of me, much less make their home with me. Thank God I’m not God! So deep is the grace, mercy, love, and compassion of God that the moment we are redeemed from our sins, we become a place for the triune Godhead to love us and remain with us forever. 

What does this mean for us, exactly? It means that wherever we are, God is. It means that we are the place God desires to be since we are now His offspring, and heirs to the riches of His grace. It means that before Christ saved us we were like orphans, but now we have been adopted into the family of God, and have a Father who has made His home with us, and His Son who is preparing a place for us on that day when “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). 

Reflect

What comes to mind knowing that the Father and Son have made their home with you? Are there areas you can see where you lack obedience and as a result keep you feeling distant from Jesus? Reflect on the familial love that God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit have for you as the new year approaches.