“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:1–7).

No matter where we currently live, there is something special about returning home to where we’re originally from and grew up.

In many ways, Christmas tends to be the time of year when we pause from our daily routines and gather with extended family, which ironically seems to draw us back home to where it all began.

Keep in mind, “home” means different things for different people. For some, home can represent a city, state, or country. For others, home is all about the house they were raised in or people they grew up with. However, not all people have fond memories of home which can be difficult to reconcile during this season of joy and celebration.

For Mary and Joseph, two young and naïve teenagers, returning home represented a hard and difficult journey as I detailed in my blog post, “Anything But A Silent Night.” Granted, it was their ultimate destination per government law that year, but reaching home would not be an easy task considering how far along Mary was in her pregnancy.

The long road to Bethlehem was fraught with danger, inclement weather, and rugged terrain to navigate, but that did not matter. A census had been decreed and Joseph was required to register his family in his ancestral city regardless of how long or what sacrifices it took to get there.

BLENDED FAMILY:

Home likely represented something far greater to Joseph. Yes, He was engaged to be married to a pregnant, young woman whose child was not his own, but he knew home would never be the same once Mary gave birth.

He would be a stepfather to not only a baby boy but the Savior of the world, hence why Joseph determined to ensure Mary and her unborn baby’s safety all the way from Nazareth to his ancestral home in Bethlehem where he was to register them as his very own family.

One can only imagine the mixed emotions Joseph must have felt. Yes, an angel reassured him in a dream that the child Mary carried was the prophesied Messiah, but was the vision he experienced indeed true? Would a simple carpenter such as himself be responsible for raising the Savior of the world?

“And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins’” (Matthew 1:19–21).

Joseph likely questioned his “worthiness” as a father every step along the way during their 90-mile trek from Nazareth. He probably doubted whether he was ready to be a father, had the knowledge and skills to raise a child, and possessed the financial means to provide for his family.

Many of us can easily relate to the fear, doubt, and worry that runs through the mind of a new father. When we begin to wrap our minds around what it means to be a provider and protector, the task at hand seems daunting and we wonder, “How will I ever measure up?”

Yet during our anxiety, God promises everything will be alright because His greatest provision to us ensures that what we lack as men is more than compensated for through His sovereign creation of our perfect helpmates—our wives.

“So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:21–24).

SELF-SACRIFICE:

It is an incredible gift to witness your wife endure 9-months of pregnancy and self-sacrifice to love, nurture, and protect a child within her womb, who is made in the image of God and the likeness of you both.

The miracle of childbirth is indescribable, for it bonds a family and lays the groundwork for building a home together. However, many couples aim to circumvent God’s design by having children out of wedlock or taking intentional measures to forcibly stop a pregnancy from occurring.

“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate” (Psalm 127:3–5).

What they fail to understand is that a house is not a home without a marital covenant in place, which solidifies the family union under the promise of “forsaking all others till death do us part.” Otherwise, there will always be an escape clause built into the relationship which enables a man or woman to abandon the home for any reason.

“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous” (Hebrews 13:4).

That is why marriage has always been God’s design to guard men and women from abandoning their responsibility to protect the home at all costs. It is a means of provision whereby 1-man and 1-woman complement each other physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually.

Joseph would never have undertaken his calling if he had not already been betrothed to Mary, which undergirds the importance of a man leaving his father and mother and holding fast to his wife, because she represents the home God has graciously built and designed for him.

“He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD” (Proverbs 18:22).

HOME REDEFINED:

In many ways, home represents a place, but it is far more than just a building or location on a map. It is a physical representation of a spiritual connection with God which is eternal through the “nuclear” family unit design.

Oftentimes, we treat our homes as merely physical proximities, but they are a collection of memories (for better or worse) which impact who we are today. For Joseph and Mary, home existed wherever they were together because they did not have the luxury of returning to Nazareth after the census.

Unbeknownst to them, God had different plans and directed them to flee to Egypt for their safety until Herod’s reign ended. Again, home took on a different meaning altogether which they never could have anticipated when they originally set out from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

“Now when the wise men had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son’” (Matthew 2:13–15).

Life tends to throw us curveballs that way, though, which further supports the age old saying, “Home is where the heart is.” We simply never know what the future holds which helps us guard against putting our hope and trust in the things of this world which fade away.

No one would had ever thought the Messiah would enter the world in the form (baby) or fashion (virgin birth) which He did. Yet when we take a step back and consider how Jesus’ ministry played out, could his birth have come any other way than in a lowly manger?

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

BOTTOM-LINE:

Jesus came to reconcile our spiritual union and lead us back home to the Father, which is why we celebrate His birth every Christmas. In many ways, our return home to see family during the holiday season is an opportunity to reflect upon what the journey home truly means.

For Joseph and Mary, their 90-mile journey gave them ample time to think about the life they were called to—raising Jesus as their own son and the home they dreamed of building together. Similarly, we are called to consider the same as we shift our attention from the houses and locations where we live to what it means to build a God-honoring home.

“Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him’” (John 14:23).

Home is where we find peace and contentment. It is not a place of yearning beyond the confines of God’s sovereign provision. Rather, it is where we discover the true meaning of what family is all about—loving and sacrificing for one another in the boundaries of God’s design.

The world would have us believe that home can be found outside the protection of God’s Word, but as Christians, we know those who place their faith in Christ will never wander aimlessly for eternity because they have found their way back home, and that is joy worth celebrating this Christmas.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).