There's No Place Like Home (Friday Devotional)

 

But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.

- Luke 15:17-20

In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy’s home in Kansas is portrayed as a dull, gray place where nothing exciting ever happens. In contrast to the Technicolor world of Oz, Dorothy’s home is a sepia-toned land of drudgery from which she longs for something more.

Yet once she is transported to the land of Oz and encounters all its incredible characters, dangers, and treasures, she finds herself longing to return to the home she’d once taken for granted. Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, once viewed as distant, boring adults, are now recognized as the loving surrogate parents they always were. The life Dorothy once saw as unexciting is now all she wants—because as the movie’s final line states, “There’s no place like home.”

That’s surely the sentiment of the famous prodigal son from Jesus’s parable in Luke 15. This man, like Dorothy, found his life at home unsatisfying and went off in search of excitement, taking with him his share of his father’s inheritance. And while, like Dorothy, he found his share of excitement and adventure in the far country, his story didn’t end in triumph, but in despair—penniless and hungry, he determines that his only path forward is to return to the home and the father he’d left behind. Prepared to eat crow, he approaches his former home with his tail between his legs, only to be greeted with joy by his father, who’d been waiting for him to return all along. Expecting to be treated like a slave, the son is instead welcomed home as a son.

Like Dorothy and the prodigal son, we are all “prone to wander.” We enjoy the comforts of home, but we find ourselves wondering if there isn’t something better out there, if we’re not missing some hidden glory by remaining where we are. Appreciation gives way to ambition, and we stray from what we’ve known.

But when God is the one we leave behind, all we find on the other side is disappointment. Living the world’s way instead of the Lord’s is a tempting proposition, but one that inevitably ends in loneliness, regardless of what shiny baubles you pick up along the way. When you seek something better than God, your search will always come up empty.

So what a gift it is to know that, if you repent, the Father is ready to welcome you back with open arms. Rather than sternly demanding penance for disobedience, God celebrates the return of his lost children with joy. The kingdom of God is not populated by flawless exemplars, but forgiven children. His home remains ours too if we will only come back to Him. And rest assured, there’s no place like home.