Displaced, Part One

displace: to remove from the usual or proper place

Since Hurricane Helene, the word displaced has been frequently used in everyday conversation like never before. Many people have not been able to live in their homes because the structures were destroyed or suffered extensive damage. Others are living elsewhere until the roads leading to their homes are rebuilt and safe to travel. And some have moved away because of the hardships of living in this area during cleanup and reconstruction.

Our home was not damaged, thank the Lord, but we did stay with my parents for a few days before we bought a generator (they already had one). While their home does feel like home to me because I used to live there, there was still an unsettling feeling of disruption to our little family’s normal routines and a longing to be back in our own home. But we only experienced a tiny amount of this feeling of disturbance. I can’t imagine what those who have been truly displaced are going through. Please keep all of these folks in your prayers!

Matthew 8:20
“And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.”

As I was studying about the word displaced, the thought came to me that no one has ever been more displaced than Jesus. First of all, He left Heaven to come to earth. He traded perfection for sin and chaos, just to make a way for us. While Jesus was on earth, He didn’t really have a permanent dwelling:

• He was born in a stable, not a house, not even an inn.
• When He was a child, the family had to flee to Egypt for His survival.
• The verse above implies that He didn’t have a place to call home. Jesus went wherever He was sent to do His Father’s business.

Jesus came to earth and suffered these things and so much more, of His own free will, so that we can be cleansed from our sins and have an eternal home (never to be displaced) in heaven with Him.