Our Home is in the Master

I had two thoughts, totally separate from each other, which I am going to fuse together in this post, because they do that really well.

The first one I had a long time ago, which stemmed from John 15, which has a whole section in which Jesus talks about Himself as being a vine, and we are the branches. I'll just pick a couple verses to highlight, but you should really read this whole thing, cause it's worthwhile.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John‬ ‭15:5)

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” (John‬ ‭15:9‬)

I have always thought of the word "abide," in this passage, to mean something like "stay," or some translations even say "remain." This isn't wrong, it means both of those things, but it really struck me a while ago as I thought about it that "abide" really means to "live" somewhere. Not just to breathe and be living, but to dwell, to reside somewhere.

When God says He wants us to abide in Him, He means He wants us to make Him our home. To abide in His love is not just to stay in His love, but to stay AT HOME in His love.

Home is where you are most comfortable, it's the place you always come back to, it's the place you can fully be yourself, and it's your shelter. Your protection. Anything outside of your home is foreign but anything IN your home is safe. This is what God wants to be for us. Home.

The other thought I had just this morning came from Psalm 27.

“One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple." (Psalms‬ ‭27:4‬)

"That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life."

At first I thought about being in the Lord's presence all the days of my life, ("all the days," by the way, means ALL the days. Not just when I get to heaven, but to live in His presence on earth.) But then I realized that dwelling in the house of the Lord means more than just living in His presence.

It means living in a home that He is the master of.

If I am going to live under my parent's roof, I have to follow their rules. I have to be respectful of what they want done in their house, and honour the virtues that they uphold. If I want to be a representation of the household I live in, I am not only going to obey their rules, but I am going to conform to them. I'm going to take to heart the correction and teaching they give me so that their values become my values, so that my heart looks like their heart.

This is what it means to dwell in the house of the Lord. Every Christian I come in contact with is another beloved child of the Master of the house, and should be treated as such. Every unbeliever I come in contact with, is like a guest of the Master of the house, and should be treated as such.

I am living under His authority and protection, and He gives me freedom as well as responsibility, as a Father does who trusts His daughter, I need to recognize this, and honour Him.
He is my father, my friend, and the Master and Authority of this house. He deserves my respect,my love, and my allegiance.

 I'm just going to add another verse to help tie the two concepts together.

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (I Corinthians‬ ‭6:19‬)

Not only can we dwell in the house of the Lord, and be at home in His presence, but Jesus says "He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit..."

We live and make our  home in Him, but He also lives and makes His home in us. This is not to say that we are the master over Him since He "lives in our home," because when we surrendered to the saving power of Christ we gave Him authority in every area of our life! No, rather it is to say that He is Lord over all. Our physical realm to which He has been invited, and His spiritual realm to which we have been invited, He is Master of both.

Flesh and Blood

“For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.” And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And again: “Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.” Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews‬ ‭2:11-15)

Oftentimes my thoughts are very scattered, so please forgive me if I don't make sense. If nothing from this point on makes sense, at least you will have read some scripture, which is always worth something.

I read Hebrews 2 today, and thought of this.

God is ultimately in charge. If you want to think about it visually like a ladder, God is at the top. He created man, who is flesh and blood, so they are one step down. Because of God they have flesh and blood, just the simple fact that they have flesh and blood shows that they were created of God.

They have children, who are a step down on the ladder from them. The children also have flesh and blood because of their parents, the simple fact that they have flesh and blood shows that they were born of their parents.

For God to put on flesh and blood is an act of amazing humility in itself, because in doing so, He is putting himself on the ladder under His own creation.

Not only this, but think about death.

God is not afraid of death, and death cannot harm Him. There's literally nothing it can do to Him, He would never have a REASON to fear death.

But His children became slaves to the fear of it. His creation was terrified of it.

Not only did He humble himself to the level of a child of His creation, but He allowed Himself to be conquered by the thing that never would have touched Him because He is more powerful than it.

He allowed what His children feared so much to overpower Him, so that it would never have to overpower them.

Obviously, even as a child of flesh and blood, and a victim of death, He still claimed the victory, and still plundered the defeated enemy for his spoils.

Satan's spoils. God's captive children, which He raised up from the ashes of their destroyed kingdom and set on thrones as His heirs.

Now Let's Pray.

"MY FAIR LADY!!"

The sound of two two-year old singing London Bridges at the top of their lungs in a tune which, (if it could be called a tune) was certainly not London Bridges, threatened to drown out the words I was reading in my book.

Abruptly, Emily interrupted the song and announced, "Now let's pray."

There was silence behind my chair for a moment before she began to say, "Thank you for my God. Thank you for my Jesus. Please help Mama to feel better..." (that part was echoed by Louisa, "Please help Mama to feel better.") "Amen."

I immediately wondered if they understood the power of the words they had just said, or rather, the power of the One they said them to. How much did they understand of what they had just done?

Probably not a lot.

When Jesus calls us to "childlike faith..."

But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” 

...does He mean the kind of strong, unwavering faith we think of when we think of a child's dependency, or does He perhaps just mean that we come with what we know?

My dad has used this analogy before, that a newborn does not think about trusting his parents. He doesn't consciously depend on them, he just does what he knows, which, at that point in his life, is very little.

Emily and Louisa did what they knew. Does God require more from them?

I can pray for a lot longer than they did. I know a lot of things that God hates that I can pray against, I know a lot of people that God loves who I can pray for, I am aware of a lot of blessings I can thank Him for, but did He want that from my nieces?

Or was He happy with the three things they said? "Thank you for my God. Thank you for my Jesus. Please help Mama to feel better. Amen."

That was what they understood, and that is what they came with.

I confess that sometimes I hesitate to come to Jesus because I feel my lack. My lack of knowledge, lack of love, lack of _____. (you fill in the blank)

It's true that I am lacking, and there is more He wants me to know. He has promised to teach me...

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (John 16:13)

...but before He teaches me, I must come to Him to listen. I must come with what I know, and though it is not perfect faith, He is pleased with it.

Another thing that struck me about Emily's prayer was that she made everything hers.

God wasn't just God, He was "My God."

Jesus wasn't just Jesus, He was "My Jesus."

Is that part of what it means to have childlike faith? Her faith said, "I know this, therefore it's mine."

I can do that too! I know Jesus, therefore He's mine.

I know that God made a way for salvation, therefore it's mine.