These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:13-16, ESV) “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” (Deitrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship)
Thanksgiving is almost here, followed by the season of Advent, when we look forward not only to the celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas but also to His second coming in power and judgment. Coming on the heels of Advent, Christmas is a time of joyful gatherings, with family and friends, with exchanging presents, with overeating good food. Sometimes lost in the hustle and bustle of this season, with shopping, food preparation, Christmas parties and fellowship with friends and family, is the true meaning of Christmas, the celebration of our Lord and Savior’s birth to a lowly couple in a manger in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.
That Jesus, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the almighty God, became man is mind-staggering. That He did this with the ultimate goal of dying on the cross for our sins is even more incredible. When we consider the vastness of the universe, the complexity of life, the beauty of the creation that He spoke into existence, and then consider the humility of being born as an infant in the lowliest of settings, we can’t begin to truly appreciate this level of sacrifice, of service, of love for miserable sinners like us. Jesus Christ came as a man to die, to give up His life as a sacrifice, as a ransom, for us, for all of us. This is wonderful, almost unbelievable, good news. Jesus became man to die on the cross, to pay for our sins, to offer Himself in our place, to bear the punishment for our transgressions that we truly deserve.
When Christ entered our hearts through His Word or Baptism, when the Holy Spirit turned our hearts towards God, we were adopted as children of God, we became Christians, followers of Jesus Christ. At that time our citizenship in Heaven began. Heaven, not this world, has become our true home, the place where we will spend eternity, not just the few years of life we have on this planet.
As Christians our lives are no longer our own. Christ has bought us, has purchased us with the price of His blood on the cross. We have been adopted into His family and are now citizens of His kingdom in Heaven. Therefore we, as the song says, are but strangers here. Heaven is our home.
As Christians we are to follow, as best we can, in Christ’s footsteps. Jesus calls us to take up our cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24). St. Paul urges us to present our bodies as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1). Dietrich Bonhoeffer spoke truthfully when he said Christ bids us “come and die.” The Christian life is not one of earthly ease, triumph, or prosperity. Yet neither is it a life lived in fear. We love because Christ first loved us; we forgive because we have been forgiven; we show mercy because God has shown mercy to us. These good works do not earn God’s favor - they flow from faith, which itself is God’s work in us through the Gospel.
Throughout history, Christians have suffered for the faith. Some have paid with their lives. Many around the world still face persecution today. Even in places where the Church enjoys relative peace, believers may face opposition, ridicule, or hostility for confessing Christ. Yet we do not fear. Our Lord has promised: “I am with you always.” And He has prepared for us a city that will never fall, a home that will never be taken from us.
As Advent draws near, may God turn our hearts again to the Child in the manger, the Savior on the cross, and the risen Lord who will come again. In Him we have forgiveness, life, and salvation. In Him we have a home. And until He calls us there, we walk by faith - confident that He who promised is faithful.