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A week ago, I was in Germany. I was at the end of a two-week journey through Italy, Austria and Germany, which some followed through my pictures on Facebook. It was a wonderful trip, made even more wonderful by the fact that I got to share it with my son. It was a trip that I hope he will remember all his life; I know I will. And while we met many new friends, and we traveled many new places, a week ago, I was longing for home. You know home: the place where you can be yourself. The place where those who love you the most reside. The place where you are welcome no matter what. And so on Tuesday night, there was great anticipation as I began to put everything back in my suitcase: I’m going home! There was excitement as I called home that evening (morning here): I’m coming home! As we set our suitcases out by the door, as we turned out the light to go to sleep, every thought was centered on the fact that I was going home.

And then we went to the airport, and we were told that our flight had been cancelled. Are you kidding me? You can’t cancel my flight! I’m going HOME today! Well, it was a long day of travel (ask me about it sometime if you want to hear the whole sad story), but we did finally get home that evening and suddenly everything was right with the world.

Home, they say, is where the heart is. Home is the longing of our hearts, and while that is true when we’re gone on a trip or even when we’re just away for a short time, how much more true is that in our spiritual lives. The longing I experienced for home while abroad pales in comparison to the longing we should have for our true home, for that place Jesus went to prepare for us (John 14:2). We’re told it will be a place where there is no more death, no more mourning, no more crying and no more pain (Revelation 21:4). And, more than that, we’re told it is the place where Jesus is (John 14:3). If he is the longing of our hearts, then being with him becomes our greatest desire. If our hearts belong to Jesus, then home with him is where we most want to be.

The trip home was rough for us, from Germany to the United States, and sometimes the journey home, from here to where Jesus is, gets rough. Sometimes the bumps in the road seem overwhelming, and often we wonder if we can even make it until we get home. But Jesus has promised to bring us safely there. He has promised his presence no matter what we go through. And every once in a while, we get a glimpse of what home might be like—in the whisper of a breeze, in the peaceful sleep of a child, in the home-going of a saintly person. A clear summer afternoon, the laughter of an infant, the smell of your favorite food—all of these and more provide glimpses of the sort of soul satisfaction that will be waiting for us when we get home. But most of all, when we get home, the struggle of this world will be over and we will be with Jesus. And that’s worth the journey. That’s worth the struggle. That’s worth everything—to be able to go home at the end.