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Devotional
CONNECTION HOME
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December 02, 2021

A Person to Call Home

December 02, 2021 by CARISSA JOY STRUM BELONGING Culture adjustment Feeling known & understood Lack of “home” Transitions Isolation & loneliness Discouragement
A Person to Call Home
  • by CARISSA JOY STRUM
  • Comment
“After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.”
Luke 5:27-28

It’s hard to define what belonging looks like, but it’s easy to spot what it feels like to be left out. Feelings of loneliness and a longing to belong can be especially prevalent on the mission field. When you leave your home for a new place, it can be challenging to feel at home anywhere.  


In Luke 5, we get to know a man who wasn’t even wanted in his own hometown. I wonder if Levi (aka “Matthew”) felt lonely or out of place. As a tax collector, Levi was automatically labeled as untrustworthy. People were skeptical of him. How often have we felt the weight of the skepticism and scrutiny of others as we work to follow Christ’s calling and further His Kingdom? Skepticism creates hurt and a feeling of having to try harder to earn acceptance--the opposite of belonging. Jesus knows all of this as He walks by the tax collecting booth in Luke 5 and calls out for Levi to follow Him. Levi does not belong in his own home, and yet Jesus calls Him into a new and better kind of belonging. Jesus calls Levi to follow Himself.  


While society cries out for us to follow rules, diets, fads, and cultural norms, Jesus calls us to follow Himself. We are not called to follow a movement, a policy, or an idea; we are called to follow a Person. This distinction makes a huge difference because people belong to other people, not to amorphous ideas or trends. When we belong to Jesus, we bond eternally to Him (see Romans 8:35-39 for more encouragement about the permanence of Christ’s love for us). Regardless of our location, we have a permanent Home in the One who calls us His own daughters. Regardless of the people surrounding us, we have a global family of diverse believers we can call our brothers and sisters in Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).  


You belong to the One who calls you to Himself from whatever you’re doing and wherever you are. You have a Home, and the One who is your Home is making His own home in you. Allow that peace-filled reality of eternal belonging to wash over you today as you go about the daily tasks that Jesus brings your way. 

Closing Prayer
Father, thank You so much for calling us. Thank You for calling us Your children and giving us a permanent place of belonging through that name. You are our Home. We love You and praise You. Please remind us through Your Spirit of our eternal reality of belonging to You as Your own daughters. In Jesus’s precious and powerful Name we pray! Amen.
Resources
Song: Good Good Father by Housefires This song is a reminder of who we are in Christ and of who God is. Sometimes it can be so easy to get caught up in thinking of God as the Sovereign Lord that we forget that He also chooses to identify Himself in relation to us: as our Father. Allow these words to wash over you as you remember who you are in light of who He is, and who He has chosen to be in relation to you. (The is a quieter version, so I hope it brings your soul a breath of fresh air and rest today.)
Song: Rejoice by Dustin Kensrue This upbeat song reminds us of who we in Christ. Because of the permanent reality that we belong to Christ, we can rejoice!
Question for Reflection

How can you remind yourself of the reality that you belong to the Father forever? What’s one practical and small way that you can live out of this truth this week?

Comments
Carissa Joy Strum
December 02, 2021

I want to invite God into the daily moments of my life by spending a moment intentionally in His presence before I react to situations by texting others or trying to figure out things on my own. Before I start to act, I want to stop and remind myself that since I belong to God, He is the ultimate authority in my life. He is present always, He is in charge, and I belong to Him no matter what (Romans 8 is so encouraging!).