The Way Home that Waze Doesn’t Tell Us About

O come, O Key of David, come
and open wide our heavenly home.
Make safe for us the heavenward road
and bar the way to death’s abode.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel, verse 5

As we prepared to buy our first house we hit a snag.  The lender wanted the back deck stained. If left in its current state, the wood would rot and the safety of the deck compromised.  For the next month the weather was touch and go and with the help of my friend, Jeff (who was also our realtor), we finally got it done.  I remember the moment he handed us the keys and the relief that the house was finally ours.  The work finished, and the labor of building a home ready to start.  

Every home needs a way to get in.  A door, a gate, a walkway…you get the picture.  If a home is kept secure from outside threats, then it needs a lock and, in-turn, a key.  In John 14, Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to prepare a place for them in his father’s house.  Thomas responds with a very logical question, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:1-7)

God sends us the key to His home.  The prophet Isaiah had shown that the key to heaven would be through the line of David. Check the lineage and we see Jesus is of the line of David (Isaiah 22:22, Matthew 1:6 ).  His sacrifice and resurrection opens the “heavenward road.”  We still have access to opportunities that can bring us away, so we sing “bar the way to deaths abode” or “lead us not temptation, but deliver us from evil.”  

Our souls long for a home, God provides the key: Jesus, Emmanuel.

Scripture References

John 14:1-7, Isaiah 22:22, Matthew 1:6

Action Step

What way away from “home” do you need to ask God to block?  What steps will you take to move toward God through Jesus?

---

Missed a day? We got you! Access here!