“Then, gracious God, in years to come, we pray Your hand may guide us, and onward through our journey home, your mercy walk beside us until at last our ransomed life is safe from peril, toil, and strife when heaven itself shall hide us.” – LSB 899:5
One of the most popular themes in fictional literature is the story of the journey home. Odysseus saw the wonders of the world, but wanted nothing more than to return to Ithaca. Samwise Gamgee helped rescue all of Middle Earth, could’ve retired in luxury wherever he wanted, yet returned home to the Shire. “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” For the Lord Jesus was on a journey, too. He is King of all and could’ve reigned anywhere as King, yet, His journey took Him to Golgotha and the tomb, after which He ascended to heaven and is seated upon His throne.
Like our King Jesus, we are on an epic odyssey through this wilderness, and are longing for the true Fatherland of paradise, the home which shall be received as our inheritance from the Father in heaven. Each of our days may appear less exciting and more mundane than what the heroes of the great epics faced, but those stories of adventure are meant to illustrate the import of each of our days. Your simple life, with its ordinary events, is the narrative of your journey through this perilous desert which you traverse in order to reach your everlasting home.
This year look at your life as a journey, and you as a pilgrim, walking home through a fearsome battlefield. Your decisions regarding how to spend your time, tallents, and treasures, may determine your homecoming. Your behaviors and attitudes towards others may result in allies or enemies. Pleasures and temptations may so distract you from the goal that you never reach it. The enemy’s strategy is shrouded in darkness; can you see his assaults against you in your day to day life?
Through this journey home the Lord Jesus shall take you by the hand, carry you on His shoulder, and walk beside you in His mercy. The Hero of this tale does not leave you unattended, because in His mercy He has already spared your life through sacrifice. He has raised you to your feet, dear Christian, and when you reach that promised home He shall crown your head with life.