There Is No Place Like Home
Dr Rosenbury was riding in a train on his way to a speaking engagement. He noticed a boy in his late teens acting very nervous, moving from one seat to another. Dr Rosenbury approached the boy and asked him if he could be of some help. The boy told his story…
“I used to live in the suburb just a few kilometres ahead. The train goes right behind our back yard. My mother and father still live in the old house. 3 years ago I had a large fight with my dad, and ran away from home. I haven’t spoken to my dad since. It has been 3 tough years. I wrote to my mum last week and told her I want to come home just once, and if dad agreed she was going to hang something white outside the house so I would know that dad has agreed to let me stop. I told her not to do it unless he agreed.”
Dr Rosenbury noticed the boy become increasingly agitated as he said
“look sir, my house is just a few minutes away and I am too afraid to look. I am going to close my eyes, would you look and see if you can see anything white hanging in the yard?”
As the train came around the corner Dr Rosenbury shouted: “look, look!!”
You could hardly see the house for white. There were large sheets hanging from the upstairs windows and table clothes and pillowcases hung in every tree and across the clothesline.
The boy's face went white, his lips quivered and tears began to roll down his cheeks as the train came to a stop. Dr Rosenbury said the last he saw of the boy he was running as fast as he could to the house of his father.
This is a story I read in a book years ago, and it has never left me. It has always served as a powerful reminder to 2 things…
1. The character of Jesus and His heart towards people.
2. The innate need in people to come ‘home’
Without doubt, Jesus is the most revolutionary person to have ever lived, and if people can see Jesus for who He truly is, their lives will be radically changed.
The challenge, however, is that we somehow forget to show people who Jesus really is. We forget to hang out the white sheets letting people know it is ok to come home and that it is time to come home. We forget to let people know that regardless of who they are, or what they have done, Jesus is ALWAYS ready and waiting (with open arms) for them to come home.
The message of the Gospel is simple. So let’s keep it simple. Let’s dedicate ourselves to simply showing people who Jesus really is and extending open invitations to them to come home.
