When the day is over, and I finally get home from whatever I'm doing, I can't wait to do two things. One, get my bra off and two, put on my lounge pants and relax. It's like I've been wearing a costume while I was away from the house, and then once I walk in the door I can finally be me again. Home is just
so comfortable, isn’t it? It’s where you
are true. Home is where your heart is. I want to spend time at home. Home gives me a warm cozy feeling, like I belong. That’s how God feels about you.
God wants to be a part of who you are all the time, not just on Sunday. You know how different your house looks when you are coming home from work on a random Tuesday, and how it looks when you are throwing a holiday party? That's kind of how we can be with God. We put on our best church girl voices and use all the right vocabulary when we pray, and we think that makes our relationship with God good. We do that in our virtual lives too. We use just the right words in our posts and add the perfect picture and everyone thinks that our lives are just peachy. But, the reality of life is something much messier. When we would go out in public as children, my mother would remind me to be on my best public behavior. God doesn't want your public behavior. He want the real you. God doesn't want to see just the decorations and the "company dishes." He wants to be there all the time. He wants to see the dog hair in the corner, the toothpaste marks on the mirror, and He wants to eat off of the paper plates with us.
God wants to be a part of who you are all the time, not just on Sunday. You know how different your house looks when you are coming home from work on a random Tuesday, and how it looks when you are throwing a holiday party? That's kind of how we can be with God. We put on our best church girl voices and use all the right vocabulary when we pray, and we think that makes our relationship with God good. We do that in our virtual lives too. We use just the right words in our posts and add the perfect picture and everyone thinks that our lives are just peachy. But, the reality of life is something much messier. When we would go out in public as children, my mother would remind me to be on my best public behavior. God doesn't want your public behavior. He want the real you. God doesn't want to see just the decorations and the "company dishes." He wants to be there all the time. He wants to see the dog hair in the corner, the toothpaste marks on the mirror, and He wants to eat off of the paper plates with us.
God wants our relationship with Him to be real. God's willingness to meet us in that mess does not mean He wants to leave us in that mess. He is going to push us to clean up our act. God is the best company we could ever invite into our lives, and if we would clean up when the Avon lady comes by, don't we think maybe, just maybe, we can do a little cleaning for the God of the universe? Scratch that, with the God of the universe.
Sometimes it is hard to know where to start with this Christian life. How do I make choices? How do I pick friends? What job does God want me to do? The year that my husband and I were engaged we spent in different cities. Long distance relationships are hard. Then we got married and started to share a home together and share your lives together. Being with someone day in and day out makes it easier to understand the who they really are. So, if you keep your relationship with God long distance, you may never truly understand who He is. Distance from God makes it difficult to know what we should be doing and what direction we should be following. However, when we invite God to live in us (like come on in, bring your toothbrush and kick off your shoes kind of living) then we begin to understand more about the God we were created in the image of.
Sometimes it is hard to know where to start with this Christian life. How do I make choices? How do I pick friends? What job does God want me to do? The year that my husband and I were engaged we spent in different cities. Long distance relationships are hard. Then we got married and started to share a home together and share your lives together. Being with someone day in and day out makes it easier to understand the who they really are. So, if you keep your relationship with God long distance, you may never truly understand who He is. Distance from God makes it difficult to know what we should be doing and what direction we should be following. However, when we invite God to live in us (like come on in, bring your toothbrush and kick off your shoes kind of living) then we begin to understand more about the God we were created in the image of.
The real problem is that a lot of us treat God like company. We put on our company clothes and our company behavior and hope that He is impressed. My husband, daughter, two dogs, and I have been living with my parents for the last eight months while we relocate to my childhood hometown. We all had to adjust a little bit. We all had to adjust our schedules, and our behavior, and in some cases our wardrobe. While we are family and love each other, we have had to learn to get comfortable with one another. Sharing your life can be challenging, but it can also be so rewarding. During this time of transition, I have experienced some of the sweetest moments. I have seen my Mama and Clayton become Granny and Poppa Clayton. I have been so blessed to have babysitters in house. We have even had a date night or two. It will be bitter sweet to move to our own home. Having God in your life like that can be like that too. It can be challenging because he will call us out of our comfortable places to follow him, but he will also fill up the empty spaces with his love.
The final part of our homes is that they reflect who we are. When people come into our homes they can see our interests, our family, our generosity, or love. When God lives in us, we should reflect who He is. People should be able to look at us and see His grace, His love, His mercy, His joy. The question we need to ask is what kind of home do we create for God? Is He just company, or is He family? Do we try to impress Him or do we ask Him to help us clean up? Do we show His love or our own selfishness?
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