Matthew 8:18 Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 A scribe then approached and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

This is an interesting passage giving us clues about the nature of life as a disciple of Jesus. In verses 18-20 Jesus tells us that his “home” was not of this earth. As such he didn’t have the opportunity to settle down or become rooted in a particular place. Those who chose to follow Jesus could expect the same.

I moved around a lot as a kid and, while I learned some valuable things in the process, I always told myself I wouldn’t move around like that when I was an adult and in charge of my own life. That’s not how things worked out. I’ve moved far more than I would have preferred since graduating from college in 1991. I’ll admit I get a bit jealous when I see old friends on social media living in the same cities they did when we were kids.

So over the years I’ve learned to make “home” wherever my family and I happen to be. And since we’re doing our best to follow the call of the Lord I have no idea how much longer we’ll be here. Mind you, I’m in no hurry to leave. Things are good here. But the passage for today reminds me that the Lord may call us to another place at any time.

Lord, give me grace to follow wherever you may lead. Amen.