Two words every traveler anticipates hearing, “Welcome home.” Airports have enough convenience to make waiting palatable, but not enough convenience to really unwind. Getting to the right terminal and gate feels likes an 800 meter sprint with a load of luggage. Missing a flight bothers us because it means an extended delay from our destination. Gates in airports were never meant to be our homes.
Sunday morning, I found myself in JFK of New York City after a red eye from Burbank, CA. My neck stiffened from attempting to sleep on the plane. Travelers miss their beds and other amenities of a home. When you travel alone, you bring your luggage everywhere. Another reminder you are on the move.
At 11:04 a.m. on Sunday morning, I heard, “Welcome home.” My wife Robyn said that to me as I exited the Rochester Airport. In this brief exchange, I no longer felt like a traveler rushing to the right terminal.
We live in a world full of weary travelers, searching for the people who make them feel at home.
The Gospels display a Savior who invited people to feel at home. Little children, cheaters, tax collectors, fisherman and so many others found acceptance in Him. When we look like Jesus to others, they experience the words, “Welcome home.” A significant message to a world full of weary travelers.
Find the people in your life who say, “Welcome home.” Not merely because you arrived at a place, but even more so because the care which motivates those words. They invite you to be you and continuously challenge you to grow. Conversely, you have the opportunity welcome people home. To give the same grace given to you as you have received.
German theologian Walter Kasper in Jesus the Christ says this:
Experiencing God’s love in Jesus Christ mean experiencing that one has been unreservedly accepted and infinitely loved, that one can and should accept oneself and one’s neighbor.
May our lives make the weariest of travelers feel at home in the love of God.
Photo credit to Jessie Schnall, you can see more of her work at Portraits by Jessie.