What Does It Mean to Say “Home Is Where the Heart Is”?

Last updated on: September 1, 2026 at 10:31 pm by Rick Rice

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What Does It Mean to Say “Home Is Where the Heart Is”? 2026-09-01T22:31:54-04:00 Rick Rice

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Author’s cottage (author’s photo) – our “home” in the summer.

Earlier this year, we spent a month in Italy. The trip was amazing; we enjoyed both the people and the places we visited. But we were certainly glad to get back home! But what exactly is “home?” I grew up in northern Indiana. When I was almost 40, I moved to northern Michigan. At the end of 2024, I retired, and we relocated to Florida, although we still spend summers in Michigan. So what is “home?” And more importantly, what does the concept of “home” have to do with our Christian faith?

Residing as Strangers in a Place that Isn’t “Home”

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as strangers, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you” (1 Peter 1:1-2).

Peter describes believers as “those who reside as strangers.” We live here, but this isn’t home. But what exactly does that mean? Why does it matter that we’re strangers in this world? There’s an old saying that “home is where the heart is.” We have an attachment to “home”; that’s why we’re always glad to return. So when we say that this world is not our home, we’re professing that we’re not attached to it. Instead, we’re on our way to somewhere else that is more important, that holds a greater place in our hearts.

Strangers Here, Looking Toward God’s Kingdom

Remember that this means more than just a wistful yearning to be somewhere else. It means that we reject the world’s values and priorities. As those at home in God’s kingdom, we embrace His values and priorities. Jesus addresses this in the Sermon on the Mount:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you” (Matthew 6:31-33).

Jesus does not call us to go off to hide away and wait for His return. Instead, He calls us to follow His example – to be in the world but not of it. As He prayed in John 17:15-16, “I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” Jesus was not “of the world.” Instead, He came to bring God’s Kingdom into the world – to begin the process of restoring God’s creation. And He calls us to join Him in that work. That’s why He taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

“Home” Means Living with God

As followers of Jesus, we are called to adopt and practice the values of the Kingdom of God. We don’t attach ourselves to the things of this world, because this is not “home” for us. But we also remember that God created this world, and He is in the process of moving to restore it. That restoration is not just a few improvements here and there; it is a complete renovation: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea…And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them…” (Revelation 21:1-3).

While some people fixate on what heaven will be like – streets of gold, gates of pearl, mansions everywhere – Scripture tells us that the key characteristic of heaven is that God will dwell among His people. That has been God’s plan from the beginning! When God created, He walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (see Genesis 3:8). The implication is that this was God’s regular practice; He didn’t just show up after Adam and Eve disobeyed! Their sin resulted in their banishment from the Garden – but God immediately began the process of working toward restoring His original purpose of being among His people.

God Works to Bring His Prodigal Children Home

God’s work of reconciling us to Himself progressed through His covenant with Abraham to the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. But those provisions could not change people; they could only pardon us. That’s why God’s process culminated in the Incarnation – “God with us” (John 1:14). Jesus’ death and resurrection provided the mechanism whereby we could be restored to fellowship with God.

“For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the form of those things itself, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually every year, make those who approach perfect” (Hebrews 10:1).
“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, ‘THIS IS THE COVENANT WHICH I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, DECLARES THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEARTS, AND WRITE THEM ON THEIR MIND,’ He then says, ‘AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL NO LONGER REMEMBER.’ (Hebrews 10:14-17)
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When we become new creations in Christ, we become citizens of God’s Kingdom – and this world is no longer “home.” In my next post, I’ll go into more detail about God’s purposes of dwelling among His people, and the ways that is reflected in Scripture.

What do you think about the idea that this world is not “home” for Christians? What ways have you seen the divide between the world’s values and practices and those to which God calls us? I’d love to hear your comments and questions!

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History and Religion

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Home in God's Kingdom

Home is where the heart is

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