“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

— John 14:3

Have you ever felt deeply homesick, wishing with all your heart to return to home and family? Well, as Christians, we are far away from our true home—Heaven—and we should feel “homesick” for it, anxiously waiting for the time that Christ will take us there.

Advent is upon us, and this time of year is a little bit about feeling homesick for Heaven. At this time of year, we celebrate Christ’s first coming and eagerly anticipate His return to take us to our true home. Advent means “to come,” taken from the Latin “ad venio.” At the first Advent, Christ came with much humility. He laid aside His robes of glory and came to earth in a humble stable, in a manger, as a baby, seen only by a few people: the shepherds, the Magi, and His immediate family. But when Christ comes again, every eye will see Him. We wait fervently for that day when Christ will come in glory with all of His angels and ten thousand times ten thousand of His saints, to receive His own to Himself and to destroy all wickedness and evil forever. For Christians, Christ’s second coming brings the greatest excitement and joy. We lift our heads and pray the final prayer of the Bible: “‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

As Christmas works its annual enchantment around us and the songs of the kingdom float on the airwaves, the Christian longs for even more. “I’ll be home for Christmas” sounds so right. It sounds like belonging and peace. For a child of God, the most wonderful Christmas will not take place on this earth. Our climactic Christmas is the one we shall celebrate anew, home in Heaven … when we will forever be truly home for Christmas. Today dwell on that truth, and pray that the Lord will quickly come.

“I do not think that in the last forty years I
have lived one conscious hour that was not
influenced by the thought of our Lord’s return.”
Lord Shaftesbury