New Morning Mercies #356

Jesus willingly lived without an earthly home so that by grace we would be guaranteed a place in the Father’s home forever.

It is an amazing story, one that becomes no less amazing with every retelling. The King of kings and Lord of lords leaves the splendor of glory to come to a shattered earth to suffer and die for self-oriented rebels. The Messiah is not born in a palace, but in a stable. He lives his life as a pilgrim, denied a small luxury even animals enjoy—a home (Matt. 8:20). He is despised and rejected, then subjected to a bloody and painful public crucifixion. And he does it all intentionally and willingly so that those rebels will be forgiven, so that those separated from God will have a home with him forever, and so that grace will be supplied to people in desperate need of it.

The words of the wonderful old Christmas hymn “Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne” capture so well the stunning contrast between Jesus’s suffering and our resultant blessing:

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,

When Thou camest to earth for me;

But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room

For Thy holy nativity.

Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang,

Proclaiming Thy royal degree;

But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,

And in great humility.

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest

In the shade of the forest tree;

But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,

In the deserts of Galilee.

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word,

That should set Thy people free;

But with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn,

They bore Thee to Calvary.

When the heav’ns shall ring, and her choirs shall sing,

At Thy coming to victory,

Let Thy voice call me home, saying “Yet there is room,

There is room at My side for thee.”

This Christmas, remember that you have an eternal home, because in amazing grace Jesus was willing to leave his home and have no home.

For further study and encouragement: Luke 9:57–62