Family REUNION, Home IMPROVEMENT

Anyone and everyone who has attended a family reunion has probably had the experience. We don’t mind entertaining company for a while, just as long as they don’t stay too long.

How long is too long? Too long is when we can no longer cover up what’s really been going on in our lives. We can and we do put on a smiley face, keeping conversations light and mild. We ask each other how we’ve been doing. And the answer is always “I’m fine,” right? After all, who wants to listen to someone else’s drama?

Real life revelations might actually lead to us getting involved in difficult, uncomfortable, uncontrollable and even embarrassing situations.
So rather than reveal the truth which might bring everybody down, we keep it light. We fill awkward silences with laughter.

There’s always at least one person who’s good for a laugh. Or we talk about stuff that we really don’t care about. Or we find some other distraction like a TV show, magazine or video game.

Still, there is usually one person who is different. This person is not the life of the party, but in their own quiet way, they make time to talk with any and everyone who needs to be heard. Just their presence lifts our spirits and, if only for a little while, we forget about our problems and enjoy the moment. We actually feel the love and support in the room. We make the connection and we thankfully realize someone cares about what we’re going through and that we are not all alone in life’s troubles.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could always have that person around us – especially when the going gets tough?

Well, I have great news for us! The Lord Jesus Christ is that Person. He is with us always even until the end of the world. He promised us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. And He is a very present help in the time of trouble. He longs not only for our daily companionship, but our moment-to-moment communion as well.

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We need to allow Him to fix up our spiritual houses for His home. Our lives are our homes. By that, I mean that what we live is where we live. More importantly, our lives are where God lives. He is with us all the time and everywhere we go. We need to make the Lord welcome in all the areas of our lives. He knows what is really going on with us, you know. All the thoughts that we think. All the words we say. All the things we do. The Lord knows. Nothing is a secret to God.

Nothing ever surprises Him either. He does not blush, nor is He embarrassed by what we are ashamed for anyone else to know. As a matter of fact, He would like for us to invite Him into the rooms and closets of our consciousness so that He can shed some light on our darkened understanding. God knows that when we see better we will do better which will make us better.

What are the rooms in our lives we need to let Jesus fill? Let’s take a look at each of them, shall we?
The basement is the very first room. Underneath ground level and invisible to the outside world, it is the seat of the house and the foundation upon which the rest of the house stands. The basement is our heart. The heart is the very seat of man, the part of us the outside world can never see. From the heart proceed all the issues of life. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. The unrepentant or heart apart from God is deceitful above all and desperately wicked. That is why we need Jesus in our hearts. When He comes into our hearts, He fills it with His Word so that we might not sin against Him. He alone can give us a solid foundation upon which to build our lives. He provides shelter from the storm and strength in our crises.

The den or family room is the next room. The family room is our social life or our relationships with others. While we use our natural family rooms for entertainment, the Lord wants to turn our relationships into sources of rest and renewal that can change the world one life at a time. He wants us to see each other as brothers and sisters who need each other. When Jesus is involved in all our relationships, we will treat everybody the way that we want to be treated – with love, compassion and respect.

The next room is the kitchen. Naturally, this is where we prepare and in many cases eat most of our meals. It has a pantry and cabinet for food, cooking utensils and plate storage, a stove and oven, a refrigerator/freezer, a sink and a dishwasher. Spiritually, the kitchen is our creativity where we make the plans for our future. As we do so, we need to recognize that God has included experiences for us that are not on our menu or in our diet, but that we need to have in order for us to become who He means for us to be. He washes away what is filthy and makes us clean. He mixes all things together for the good of those who love Him and He heats up good works in us to serve others. As we seek Him, we drink the sincere milk of the Word, we eat the Bread of Life, we digest the meat of doing His will, and we savor the sweet honey of His promises as well as the bitter herbs of His discipline. These produce the fruit of the Spirit in us for all to taste and see that the Lord is good!

The next room is the bedroom. Used for sleeping, dressing and undressing, and sexual pleasure, it contains closets, dressers, bureaus, mirrors and, of course, a bed. Spiritually, the bedroom represents our sexuality, which the Lord wants yielded to Him. When Jesus has control of our bedroom then we have control over sex. If He doesn’t have control then sex starts to have us. When sex has us fornication, adultery, and other perversions are going to occur. Jesus will make a better lover out of us for He made our bodies and knows what turns us on. He would have us express our physical love to our spouse in a considerate manner that meets his/her needs as well as our own. We must become comfortable with being naked in His presence and with looking at ourselves in the mirror of His word. We must come to Him with our worries and frustrations and know He will give us rest.

The next room is the bathroom. Here we eliminate bodily wastes, clean our body, care for our hair and oral hygiene. Spiritually, the bathroom is our minds. The Lord Jesus wants to unclog our minds when we get stopped up with the filth and wastes of the world. He cleans our thought-life with the washing of water by the Word and eliminates any source of offensive smell or odor such as self-righteousness and legalism without love.

The last room is the living room. Usually, this space is the one we live in the least. Instead, we keep it as a showplace for our best furniture, art pieces and carpet. Spiritually, the living room is our human spirit where our worship takes place. Worship must become more than just ritual reserved for Sunday morning display. True worship must be done in spirit and in truth for the Father is looking for such. Only through Jesus can we consistently live a life that honors God and ushers in His presence whenever we are around. He will also enable us to give God our very best at all times and not just on special occasions. When the Holy Spirit fills our human spirit, we are insulated from backsliding and can raise the roof with prayer, praise and thanksgiving.

Jesus said when He rose from the dead He has the keys to the kingdom. Like it or not, He is Lord of heaven and earth. Let’s make our lives home for the Holy One. He taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to come and for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Let us turn all the keys to the rooms of our lives over to Jesus.