Finding Home

There’s no place like home.

Home is where we find comfort. It’s where we spend time with our loved ones. It’s where we feel safe. It’s where we belong. (That’s how it should be, anyway.) Home can mean different things to different people. Some of us grew up with both parents in the home, while others grew up with a single parent, adoptive parents or being raised by family members.

For Will Robertson, home meant being surrounded by people who looked different than he did, but he still felt like he belonged. Adopted by Willie and Korie Robertson at just five weeks old, he was part of the Robertson family well before they became famous on Duck Dynasty. But as the show grew in popularity and shined a spotlight on the family, probing questions and comments turned his focus to his biological family.

As someone who grew up with four half-siblings, I can relate to Will’s experience of being raised in a blended family. There was a lot of favoritism in my house growing up and it felt like I could never be good enough for my parents. I was also a loner at school, never having more than one real friend at a time. Even at church, I was awkward and had social anxiety. I often questioned whether there was anywhere I truly belonged. As I grew in my walk with God, I realized that he really was my adoptive father. Ephesians 1:5 tells us, “he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will–”

As Will’s family tree grew, he grew closer to God. As he built his community and grew deeper in his walk, he saw God move in his life and even found his calling in the worship ministry. Now he’s building his own family with his wife, and he’s using what God taught him to make an impact on the world around him.

God created us with a desire for him, and Will’s story is an excellent testimony to this. It’s a great reminder that despite the separation that sin created between human beings and God, he still loves us and wants us in his family. 

As Christians, our citizenship is in heaven according to Philippians 3:20. If it feels like something is incomplete on earth, it’s because we’re not living in our eternal home yet. Ephesians 1:5 says, “He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.” Through Jesus’ sacrifice, we have been adopted into the family of God and will one day call heaven our home for eternity.

Will offers a good reminder for this with his song “Home,” which features his sister Sadie Robertson Huff and LO Worship:

“You’re with me if I stay

You’re with me if I go

I’ll follow all the way

And forget my comfort zone”

If Jesus is your Savior, you may have a home on earth, but your true home is heaven. Like Will, I hope you realize this as you look forward to seeing our heavenly father face-to-face one day.