It’s often a throw away line that catches my attention – be it from a podcast, movie, lecture or whatever. Sometimes it doesn’t have that much to do with the overall theme or focus, but I quickly haul my phone out, jot down the key words and return to reflect on them later. They often find their way into this blog. This is one of those times, and truth to tell, I can’t remember the context or broader frame in which these words were spoken – but I thought they were striking, so here they are for us to reflect on today: “because in the end we are all just walking each other home.”
“Because in the end we are all just walking each other home.” I think it’s a beautiful sentiment. Why?
Walking someone home implies so many things. Concern for their well being, awareness that we are all vulnerable and that some journeys are difficult – perhaps even dangerous. It suggests that home is where we want to be. It says that we are responsible for one another. It is firm that we are not alone – there is someone to walk with you, and there are people we should be walking with.
So where is home?
I remember on another podcast listening to a sometimes houseless person saying: “I have often been houseless, and unsure where I could find shelter, but I have never been homeless. I have always felt at home on this planet – always felt close to some people – always felt ok with myself. Caring and being cared for – that’s what having a home means. You don’t need a house for that, and I know lots of people who have a house (actually, sometimes several houses) but have no home – no place where they can calmly and contentedly simply be who they are.” It’s an interesting idea, isn’t it? A house is not necessarily a home, and a home is not necessarily a house. It’s more about a sense of belonging and inner peace. As this periodically houseless person said, “I am always at home with myself. Nothing to prove, just content to be me.”
The writer of Hebrews 13:14 poignantly reminds us: “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” In an age of rampant Christian Nationalism this is a gentle but firm rebuttal. The city that is to come will be filled with people from every tribe and nation under heaven, united together in the praise of God (Rev 7:9). We may have a house in Australia, or Estonia, or the USA, but for Christians, home is ultimately reached after our 3 score and ten years. No, I am not wanting to engage in escapism here – taking about some never, never land in the great beyond. I’m simply reminding us of a core Christian conviction that this world’s bricks and mortar are not our final destination, and therefore we should not act as though they are. Part of safely walking each other home is reminding each other that we are creatures of eternity – that we have come from God and return to God. That should make a difference to how we live now. It means we engage in the present with grateful but open hands. What we have, we have for a little moment – we should use it well, but not be so deluded as to think that this is all there is and the limit of reality.
Walking each other home means that we help each other redirect focus when we are in danger of walking in the wrong direction. There are many bright shiny trinkets that might distort our focus. Power, prestige and popularity are 3 common detours, and there are many others that don’t start with P! Disorienting obstacles are always around – and we should help one another to see them for what they are – distortions of home, blocks on the journey. They might be harmless (sometimes even useful) in their own way, but when they capture our heart they become idols.
There are some who have no one to walk with them. That’s more than sad – because we all need each other, and we are all on the journey home. Perhaps that’s something we could do this week. Ask God to open our eyes to people we should walk with. Reflect for a moment: “Who might God already have placed beside me on the path?” As you walk with them you will discover that they are walking with you. Because in the end we are all just walking each other home…
Nice chatting…
Photo by Boris K.: https://www.pexels.com/photo/yellow-wooden-house-surrounded-by-green-trees-6952009/
Please help extend the reach of this blog by forwarding and reposting. You are free to reproduce material from the blog with acknowledgment of its source.
This post really hit “home” for me. Only a few days ago I was far from my own home, in a country I had never been to before (Indonesia), surrounded by people I hardly knew. And yet, as we worshipped God together in a language I did not know, and in ways I had never experienced before, I felt deeply at home. There was something so beautiful and comforting in that moment.
Thank you for this post.
What a wonderful experience – a deep reminder of what it means to be part of the family of God.