The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Home"
"God made us for this, to serve as His habitation, and to find in Him the home of our hearts."
"Thou hast been our dwelling place throughout all generations" (Psalm 90:1).
"I will dwell in them and walk in them" (II Corinthians 6:16).
So, is God our home, or are we His home?
The answer is both. Scripture speaks to the spiritual reality of believers' family relationship and union with our Lord in its dual affirmation of dwelling. As we frequently suggest in these messages, Christ lives in us, we live in Him, and we live through Him as the motivating, guiding, and empowering Life of our lives.
God made us for this, to serve as His habitation, and to find in Him the home of our hearts. We were never truly alive until the Spirit of the Lord Jesus took residence within our spirits, and we do not truly live apart from decisively acknowledging and submitting ourselves to the singular reality of "to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21). "I am… the life" He declared, and we must respond, "You are my life" (John 14:6). We came home when we trusted Christ, home came to us, and we live in its blessed gift as we seek to walk with God in faith and faithfulness.
Of course, we presently "walk by faith, not by sight" (II Corinthians 5:7). We too often forget or neglect the wonder of our Lord's abiding presence within us, and our abiding presence with Him. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (I Corinthians 3:16). Although written to the wayward Corinthian believers, the godliest among us would tell us they often barely see the hem of Christ's garment, as it were, despite how vitally and vibrantly our Lord dwells with and within us. Thus, we do well to remind ourselves and each other of the great truth that our God is at hand, in heart, and by the grace of the Lord Jesus, in home.
A final thought. The Apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith" (Ephesians 3:17). Why would Paul ask God for which He had already given as a free gift of grace? The answer lies in the meaning of the word "dwell" used by the Apostle. It suggests not merely living in a habitation, but rather finding it a comfortable dwelling place. Note that Paul writes that we make our hearts a place where God delights to dwell "through faith." Just as a house can become a home, so we desire our spirits to serve as a beloved, familiar, and comfortable dwelling for our Lord. Trusting Him serves as the basis for such a possibility we want to make an actuality. As Paul prayed for the Ephesians, let us pray for each other that such a blessing, such a blessing of home, will become a joy to our Lord, and to ourselves.
"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
(Psalm 91:1)
"Christ in you, the hope of glory."
(Colossians 1:27)
Weekly Memory Verse
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man.
(James 1:13).
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