A House and a Home

A House and a Home

It takes more than four walls to make a home. (You need a roof, too!) We know this. A house is a building but home, for lack of a better phrase, is ‘where your heart is.’ Most of this is instinctual. What makes an excellent host is not merely opening a door, but creating an atmosphere of welcoming, warmth, and camaraderie. Because a home is merely a reflection of those that reside within it. Which raises certain questions. We’ve heard the verse, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15b) What does that look like? If the church is God’s house, then how should it seem? The earth is our temporary home, a brief waystation between two eternal destinations. Perhaps it’s best we roll up our sleeves, take a look at the foundations, and touch up a little bit more than just our curb appeal.

All that glitters is not gold. If there is an aphorism that sums up reality television this one may just do the trick. What we see in that medium is an obsession with the external. Every moment, word, or deed is relentlessly tailored to portray a message. (Intriguingly, the message most often seems to be “I have no self-awareness.”) But the point is that nearly every soul stolen by that unblinking eye of a camera and displayed in all their folly for our gluttonous guilty pleasure is puffing themselves up to the max. A desperate struggle to play act a version of themselves they wish they could be, hoping that the miracle of “movie magic” can conjure that fiction into reality. People build lives chasing after a figment, surprised when the curtains come down to find that nothing at all has meaningfully changed. There has to be a next season after all. And the whole garbage conflagration begins again when the lights come back on and the cameras start rolling. Weird segway from the first paragraph I know, but it’s there for a reason. 

If we are to build a household focused on the Lord, it must stand in stark contrast to nearly every example given to us from our broken culture. The people we see on screens cannot be a rubric, guidepost, or benchmark. They should properly be viewed as an ever decreasing speck in our rear-view mirror. Our homes should not be places of ostentation, grandiose for the sake of glorifying our own creativity. They should be lighthouses for the glory of Another. Our lives and homes should portray something, but it should not be to elevate ourselves. That’s not a requirement to only live in hovels. (Solomon did live in a palace after all.) But a reminder that all of our actions should reflect obedience. If one is to make the pronouncement that “for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” then such evidence should be noticed. Be wary of such grand statements. Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead because they declared they gave all of the proceeds of their sale to the Church when in fact they only gave part. A vow is a sacrifice, you are deliberately relinquishing your free will to honor a commitment to God. And it is not something that should be taken lightly or made fleetingly.

A house that serves God should be notable. In the midst of the darkness a light can be blinding. And in this troubled world we live in, a shining beacon should stand out. And as any Spider-man enthusiast would tell you, with such a great power comes an equally great responsibility. If your house is indeed a beacon in the darkness then you best be sure that it is built upon the Rock. One of the things those unfortunates in “reality” tv know that so many others haven’t learned is that the spotlight focuses on the blemishes the hardest. One of the reasons that the Cold War crusader Ronald Reagan was successful in his intent to bring down the Soviet Union was that he understood that America could only operate from a position of strength. He focused first on building up the economic capacity of the USA and then turned the screws of international commerce against its foe. That is to say, it would be a mistake to sow the wind and expect the whirlwind if your mooring is in sand. If you are willing to go to war with the darkness, be sure the light is shining valiantly. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) Another one of the lion’s tactics is to stalk those that leave the herd.

A home is not much of one if it is empty. There are those that find the echoes of happy memories to be sufficient, and there are those that enjoy the crowds. People are too diverse to ever definitively say that one is better or right, as long as the focus of the peaceful abode or the bustling nerve center is directed properly. God can be found in the quiet whisper and in the roaring wind. “After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” (1 Kings 19:12) “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:1-2) The Lord is more than capable of talking to you in any circumstance. The key link between both is that in each scenario, those involved were patiently waiting on the Lord, straining, desiring, and praying for His voice. Which one characterizes your home?

“Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.” (Psalms 48:9) What is the purpose of God’s house on this earth? The temple in the time of the Israelites served a large and varied number of purposes. But we recognize that behind the pulpit of Mission City there is not a Holy Grail, an Ark of the Covenant (or even a Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!) (**Sidenote Tangent–Boy, Indiana Jones really did fall off didn’t he?**) The church we attend every week is just a building. Zoned as such by a local government, it houses a tax-free institution generally held in a medium to high regard by most if they think much about it at all. Does that make sense? Should it? If we view our church as the dwelling place of the Most High, then shouldn’t people sit up and take notice? Shouldn’t we leave there every week like Moses coming down off the mountain? Routine can be the most dangerous foe to fervent faith. (Looking in the mirror here, I have a “usual” at our cafe.) “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8-9) (Seems at least worth an “Amen!”) Like the derelict or condemned building, a church is meaningless if not put to its proper use. “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere” (Psalms 84:10) What would happen to church attendance if we behaved as we believed? If we turned the church into the Temple it symbolically stands for?

On a sliding scale note, what would our communities, states, nation, or world look like in the same regard? We all share this bright blue spinning marble. It’s our temporary home. But we must be reconciled to the fleeting nature of our time here. It may be nice to hang new drapes, put in wood flooring, or repaint the den, but there will be new owners soon enough. Why not make a change that lasts. Trade in the temporary residence for an eternal crown. There happens to be one with your name on it. It was crafted for you before you were even born. So many walk this communal home assuming they are outsiders. The Church is to dispel that foolish notion with one key phrase, “Welcome home.” Not just to a place where you belong, not just to a family, but to an eternal position. It’s easy to feel down-trodden or outcast. But as singular as you may feel there is another temple yet to examine. 

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (1 Corinthians 3:16) God first existed, then He created, then He walked in Creation itself, sharing in our time here. Our sin is repugnant to His righteousness, but it cannot overcome His unfailing Love. And while He would not walk the earth again as He once did, He sent the Son to show us the way back home. He lived with us for about a generation and then paved the pathway for us. Providing at once, both a guidepost and safe passage. Now God dwells within us through the Holy Spirit. What sort of home do you provide? If a home is merely a reflection of those who reside within it, what does yours say? We know a considerable amount (though still not near as much as we think) about our temporary housing down here in wormy dirt. But what do we know about that home that awaits us? “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” (Revelation 21:22) No facsimile in Heaven. No “reality” filter. No pretending, stand-ins, counter parts, surrogates or understudies. What we will have is God reconciled with His creation. Finally restored to the perfection that was planned that’s now promised. And at those gates, a loving Father who waits to tell us, “Welcome home.” 

Jordan Williamson