Home Is Where the Heart Is

 

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t’san old adage we’ve all heard many times and, I venture, we’ve used it in appropriate situations just as our parents did before us and their parents before them.  That’s the wonderful thing about old adages. No matter who uses them, and no matter in what situations they are applied, their truths are ageless and always cause those who hear them to stop and think. 

 

I had several opportunities to reflect on the simple but profound truth found in the words, “Home is where the heart is!”  As I packed up books, stuffed clothes into laundry bags, gingerly placed dishes and glasses into protective packaging, and crammed books into box after box in preparation for moving into my new house, I came to realize that, while my possessions occupied my former apartment, my heart was no longer there.  In fact, my heart was anywhere but into packing and storing my worldly goods.   

 

Have you ever noticed just how many things we collect once we have a place to call our own?  I mean, how many twist ties does one person need? Yet, while packing up my life, I found myself musing over the smallest items, remembering where I got them or who gave them to me.  But the more I mused and the more I packed, the more stuff I realized I had accumulated that I really didn’t need.  Finally, after countless trips back and forth between my apartment and my new home, I placed the last box into my car, closed the door, turned the key, and left knowing I had to unpack all of it again when I got home. 

 

If you’ve ever moved, you can identify with the frustrations that accompany packaging all your belongings and moving them from one location to another.  You ask yourself constantly why you ever bought so much stuff and why you never used it as you intended to.  If this has ever happened to you, you will be able to appreciate Jesus’ words regarding worldly possessions and how they hinder us from having the relationship God fully intends for us to have with Him. 

 

In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 

 

This passage of scripture is taken from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus wanted his listeners to understand that worldly possessions have a way of possessing us instead of us possessing them.  This is nowhere more evident than in today's society. Not content with what we have, we are constantly at the malls, in the shops, or calling the number on our television screens to purchase the latest gadget or the newest “must-have” fashion.  Before our money is in the bank, before we can use it to further God’s kingdom, before we can help others in need, it is spent or obligated for something we don't need. 

 

The most difficult portion of this passage is found in the last sentence.  Throughout his ministry Jesus placed great emphasis on the heart and ensuring it was acceptable to God.  Yet, in this passage, Jesus states that our hearts will be found where our treasure is.  This statement is very powerful.  If God is our treasure, our hearts will be with Him and we will be content no matter our circumstances or our location.  This is what Paul meant when he said he had learned to be content in all situations.  However, if our treasure is not where God is, we will be miserable because nothing we can buy will ever satisfy the longing and desires of our hearts. 

 

If home is truly where the heart is, then our hearts can only truly be at home when they belong to God.  Because when our hearts belong to Him, we are always where He is; we are always with Him.  Not a bad place to be, huh?  Where is your heart today?