Scripture
Our verse for today comes from John 14:23, “Jesus answered and said to 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.’”
Background
A friend of ours recently had a significant stretch of time come to an end where her mother-in-law was staying with them. As a result of the visit, many things around the house needed to be, shall we say, adjusted. Sleeping arrangements had to be altered to make room for an extra person. Grocery shopping would include special trips to a particular market to purchase the specific foods that she ate. Considerations would now include whether to bring her along, let her stay home, leave the kids with her, or take them along whenever an errand needed to be run or an occasion arose to go out. Certainly the interpersonal dynamics were altered as another person was added to the family mix for several months. Those, and many other more sublime but equally as impactful issues required attention and maneuvering during her lengthy stay. Their niece was also possibly going to need a place to stay for a while, and as my wife and I considered offering our home to help out, serious thought had to go into the ramifications of such an arrangement. And I am most certain you have experienced a time when your home life was turned upside down. It’s tough enough living with those closest to you every day without adding someone else, even if that someone is beloved and special.
Application
Our homes are sacred to us, places of intimacy and comfort, where our defenses can drop and others get to see the real person. And that intimacy is just a sprinkling of what Jesus was promising to those who love and obey Him. That’s why He does not reveal Himself to the entire world. He comes in such an intimate way that love for and obedience to the Savior are required for Him to be present. The casual curiosity or the fleeting invite means nothing to Him. He requires the keys, the master suite, and every place in between. The heart that offers that to Him is where He abides, and where He abides is evident by the type of home it is.
Charge
As we seek Him today, make your heart the home that reflects its loving Master.
Author – Rich Holt | BCWorldview.org
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