A Welcoming Home For The Lord And Others

Is the Lord welcome in your home? If He were to knock on your door right now, would you feel comfortable letting Him in? Is there peace and harmony among those who dwell there? Is the music being played honoring to Him? Would He be able to sit next to you and watch television? Is there contentment and joy filling the air? Is there order to the home and a comfortable place for Him to sit?

For some reason, we forget that He lives in our homes with us. "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."{John 14:23} Whatever you are doing, He is right there with you. 

I'm convinced that part of living a beautiful life in a fallen world is reflecting God's Hospitable nature. Those who enjoy God's hospitality must extend hospitality to others: "Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality"{Romans 12:13}. A welcoming home is more than offering a meal and a bed. When I consider the Lord's hospitality, I think of his listening ear and His self-revelation. The words "conversation" and "communion" may be the sweetest fruit of hospitality. 

When a teenager questioned why she should make her bed and tidy her room when she could merely close the door on the mess, her mother replied, "It is an act of hospitality to yourself." There is profound wisdom in this mother's answer.  

My mother was a widow for twenty five years. Although she lived alone, she cooked full, well-balanced meals and kept a neat house. Her friends asked, "Why trouble yourself to cook when you could slip something ready-made into the microwave?" The answer, I believe, was "hospitality." It was something she could do to live a beautiful life in a fallen world. {Jean Fleming from Pursue The Intentional Life}

Our homes have so much value to the Lord. Marriages are nourished in the home. Children are loved and disciplined in the home. Visitors are welcomed. All of the women's roles in the Bible basically revolve around the home. Make sure you make your home welcome to the Lord and to others. It should be your main ministry in life.