My real estate agent asked as we stood outside the office for my house closing, “Are you ready for this?” I wanted to shout, “No way! What crazy person decided it was a good idea to allow me—a soon-to-be seminary graduate about to start my first full-time clergy appointment—to buy a house?” Instead, I said, “Of course!”
Half an hour later, after signing what seemed like endless documents, I received the keys to my first house. Just like that, I was a homeowner. How odd that signing a stack of papers, handing over a big check, and receiving keys created such a shift in my life. Suddenly I felt grounded and rooted in a place that I would call my own.
People tried to warn me that a home comes with a great deal of responsibility. Having a mortgage really did turn me into a grownup. When the dishwasher gave out, I had to figure out the repairs. When the toilet backed up, there was no one to unclog it but me. Even still, it was mine. The house became my home. And my home became the place where so many of God’s promises were realized. The promise of home comes with responsibility; yet, never a day goes by when responsibility outweighs the benefits of home.
While Jeremiah is in jail, God makes an odd request. God tells him to purchase and redeem the land of his kinsman in his hometown. For Jeremiah, the option to buy confirmed the truth of God’s request and signaled God’s follow-through on the promises made to the Israelite people. “Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.”