「沒有任何地方比得上家！」桃樂絲一邊說，一邊敲敲她紅色鞋子的鞋後跟。在《綠野仙蹤》的故事中，桃樂絲只須做這個動作，她和小狗托托就會很神奇地從奧茲王國，回到他們在堪薩斯州的家。可惜不是每個人都有這麼一雙鞋。雖然許多人都像桃樂絲一樣渴望回家，但要找到一個讓人有歸屬感的家，談何容易啊！

生活在這個瞬息萬變且流動性高的世界裡，我們難免會產生疏離感，不知是否能找到真正屬於自己的歸宿。這樣的感受可能也反映了一個深刻的事實，就如作家魯益師說：「如果在我內心有一種渴望，是這世上任何經驗都無法滿足的，那麼最可能的解釋就是，我是為另一個世界而造的。」

耶穌在被釘十架的前一晚，明確地告訴祂的朋友們有這麼一個家。祂說：「在我父的家裡有許多住處；若是沒有，我就早已告訴你們了；我去原是為你們預備地方去」（約翰福音14章2節）。那是一個歡迎我們、愛我們的家。

即使是現在，我們也可以有在家的感覺。我們都屬於一個大家庭──上帝的教會，與主內弟兄姐妹彼此連結。在耶穌帶我們回到我們所盼望的家之前，我們可以住在祂的平安與喜樂中。有耶穌同在就是家。

“There’s no place like home,” says Dorothy, clicking the heels of her ruby slippers. In The Wizard of Oz, that was all it took to magically transport Dorothy and Toto from Oz back to their home in Kansas.

Unfortunately, there aren’t enough ruby slippers for everyone. Although many share Dorothy’s longing for home, finding that home—a place to belong—is sometimes easier said than done.

One of the consequences of living in a highly mobile, transient world is a sense of detachment—wondering if we’ll ever find a place where we truly belong. This feeling may also reflect a deeper reality, expressed by C. S. Lewis: “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”

The night before the cross, Jesus assured His friends of that home, saying, “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2). A home where we are welcomed and loved.

Yet we can be at home now too. We’re part of a family—God’s church, and we live in community with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Until the day Jesus takes us to the home our hearts long for, we can live in His peace and joy. We’re always home with Him.