Where Everybody Knows Your Name

I was recently talking with a friend about desiring permanence in terms of geographical setting.  You know?  The feeling you should have when you’ve planted in a place and know you’ll be there for a while-a place to call ‘home’-where everybody knows your name.  Well, if you’ve read further down the About page about me, you know I haven’t been in any place for very long in a long time. And at this point, I’m not sure when I’ll get to enjoy that privilege.

Some of you are like me, moving from place to place every year or few years.  Some of you, the few, the privileged, have been settled geographically for a long time.  But, even though you’ve been in a place a while, that place is surely not the same as when you first arrived.

I have to believe this desire for permanence is a good thing but it seems like the thirst is never fully quenched.  You finally feel settled and then it’s time to move again or you develop some really great friendships and then they suddenly have a calling elsewhere.  I feel that so many of us are wandering around, waiting to feel like we’re really settled, like we have a place called ‘home,’ and that there will be people who will miss us when we’re gone. So, what do we do with this longing?

Well, here are my current thoughts on the topic.  Two things:

1. Admit the desire and put it in its proper context.
2. Look to Jesus’ example as one who made a permanent impact though his time was short.

ADMIT the DESIRE and PUT it in the PROPER CONTEXT

Talking with my friend reminded me that this desire for permanence and ‘home’ is a God-given one.  I’ve recently been reading Tim Keller’s The Prodigal God. (Great book with deep insights yet easy to read).  Keller writes, ‘Home is a powerful but elusive concept.  The strong feelings that surround it reveal some deep longing within us for a place that absolutely fits and suits us, where we can be, or perhaps find, our true selves.’

He later links this longing to the world that is to come.  ‘This world, as it now exists, is not the home we long for.’  He ends the chapter with great hope, ‘Jesus will make the world our perfect home again. We will no longer be living ‘east of Eden,’ always wandering and never arriving.’

So, the desire for home is God-given but will never truly be fulfilled here, this side of Jesus’ return.  Admitting this gives me great hope for what’s to come.  And yet, I can’t help but feel like I could still feel a little more permanence here.  That brings us to the second thought.

LOOK to JESUS for HELP

Jesus did a lot on his first voyage to the world that inspires me to hang on in these ‘permanot’ days. I’ve been reading through the gospels as part of my commitment to read Scripture in 2009. And, I’ve been startled to remember that Jesus was really only ‘ministering’ for 3 years. This summer, my husband and I will have been in this little town for 3 years.  So, I have a great picture of just how long that really is.  Not very long! And yet, He changed the world, He rearranged the world, He saved the world.  But alas, I’m not Jesus.  I do remember a promise, though, that we would do even greater things than He did.  And so, in desperation, I’ve started thinking about His lifestyle during those short three years.  What did he do that I don’t do?

1. He abided in his father and followed his direction.  This is of course, key.  Though fully human, Jesus maintained such a close relationship with his Father in heaven that He ONLY did what He saw the Father doing.
2. He focused on a few people and sometimes even fewer. Jesus wasn’t trying to be everybody’s friend and he certainly wasn’t going for Prom King. He chose a few people and gave Himself fully to those buddies.  The buddies weren’t so great and failed Him often, but He never gave up on them even when they betrayed Him.
3. He was intentional in all his actions.  Jesus knew why He’d come and all His days were tied up in that mission.  He was headed toward the cross from the beginning and He checked all opportunities with that ultimate vision.
4. He wasn’t encumbered by worldly possessions.  Jesus never had a home to care for or possessions to maintain. He gave his time entirely to either private time with his Father or time with people.
5. He didn’t waste words but said what was true.  Jesus spoke hard and honest truths and yet also was quick to verbally portray his love and acceptance to his disciples.
6. He directed people to God and trusted the Holy Spirit to do His work.  Though fully God, Jesus was limited by His human body and knew that it was better for Him to go away and for the Holy Spirit, the Counselor to come and teach his disciples all things.

Wow.  There’s six points and I’m sure I’ve just scratched the surface (but nearly passed my self imposed word count limit). I want to talk further about all these.  But, we’ll close here for now.  Today, I’m thinking about the fact that Jesus focused on a deep relationship with a few people. And I’m also asking the Holy Spirit to teach me how to live a life focused more on people than on possessions.

How permanent do you feel in your current locale?  What characteristics of Jesus’ short stay strike you?  What ways can you see God growing you to long for your eternal home and yet have a more permanent impact in your temporary dwelling?  I’d love to think about it together with you.

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