As I was preparing to leave my home in Cincinnati and travel to my “home” in Florida, I shared with my son Brent, that I felt lead to write about home in my next blog posting. His immediate response was, “Home is family, Mom!” His comment reflected what I had always hoped my children would learn as they were growing up: home is wherever we come together as family. But through the years, and especially through my relationship with the Lord, He has taught me that home means so much more.
The word home is not consistently found in the Bible, the words house and temple are more commonly found in its place. In my research, I discovered that the Hebrew word for home is bayit. And particularly in the Old Testament, bayit has a much broader translation to mean a house, household, dwelling place, or temple. In the New Testament the word home is more commonly derived from the Greek word oikos, which also refers to a house, dwelling, or household, but it also includes family. It can also be thought of as the body that houses the soul. This last translation reminds me of what God’s Word says in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Or don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you, and was given to you by God?” When I think about how encompassing the Hebrew word bayit and oikos are, I recognize how abundantly blessed I am with all the homes that God has given me: my immediate family, my extended family, my family of friends, my family of believers, my house, my church, my body, and my eternal heavenly home!!!
As I ponder on this idea of home, I am sensitive to the fact that our thoughts and feelings are not always warm and fuzzy. We can struggle with all kinds of hurts that clutter our relationships in our families, like criticism, judging, negativity, and addictions. This past Sunday when I attended Mass with my parents, I kept meditating on the verses that I heard in the gospel reading from 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. These verses spoke to me about the cause of those struggles in our realtionships and why they challenge us. It really boils down to whether we are living in the light or living in the darkness. The question I always have to be asking myself is this: “Do I make the decision to follow the light of Christ or do I decide to reject His light and stay in the darkness?” 1 Thessalonians 5:11, tells me how to be that light in my home and in my family, “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing!”
Ten years ago, the following prayer was submitted to me by a class participant who was inspired to share what he had learned about "home" from my 14 week Clutter Healing Class. I hope your eyes, ears, and hearts will be blessed by this prayer.
The word home is not consistently found in the Bible, the words house and temple are more commonly found in its place. In my research, I discovered that the Hebrew word for home is bayit. And particularly in the Old Testament, bayit has a much broader translation to mean a house, household, dwelling place, or temple. In the New Testament the word home is more commonly derived from the Greek word oikos, which also refers to a house, dwelling, or household, but it also includes family. It can also be thought of as the body that houses the soul. This last translation reminds me of what God’s Word says in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Or don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you, and was given to you by God?” When I think about how encompassing the Hebrew word bayit and oikos are, I recognize how abundantly blessed I am with all the homes that God has given me: my immediate family, my extended family, my family of friends, my family of believers, my house, my church, my body, and my eternal heavenly home!!!
As I ponder on this idea of home, I am sensitive to the fact that our thoughts and feelings are not always warm and fuzzy. We can struggle with all kinds of hurts that clutter our relationships in our families, like criticism, judging, negativity, and addictions. This past Sunday when I attended Mass with my parents, I kept meditating on the verses that I heard in the gospel reading from 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. These verses spoke to me about the cause of those struggles in our realtionships and why they challenge us. It really boils down to whether we are living in the light or living in the darkness. The question I always have to be asking myself is this: “Do I make the decision to follow the light of Christ or do I decide to reject His light and stay in the darkness?” 1 Thessalonians 5:11, tells me how to be that light in my home and in my family, “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing!”
Ten years ago, the following prayer was submitted to me by a class participant who was inspired to share what he had learned about "home" from my 14 week Clutter Healing Class. I hope your eyes, ears, and hearts will be blessed by this prayer.
A Prayer for Coming Home
O True and Ever –living God
I repent of all my false and empty gods
I look again into the closets of my life
my mind, my heart
to see what rules me.
Whom do I serve?
What are the possessions,
the people,
the opinions,
the events,
that control my life?
O Welcoming One
I see you standing at the door
of my heart
waiting for me
You gaze at my strange gods
with an eye of compassion.
I am ashamed to invite You
into my cluttered house
yet my heart aches
to be at home with you.
My hand is reaching for the door
I hear myself saying, Come on in
I have more room than I thought I had
Come on in, and be the only God in my life.
May this moment of homecoming last forever.
O True and Ever –living God
I repent of all my false and empty gods
I look again into the closets of my life
my mind, my heart
to see what rules me.
Whom do I serve?
What are the possessions,
the people,
the opinions,
the events,
that control my life?
O Welcoming One
I see you standing at the door
of my heart
waiting for me
You gaze at my strange gods
with an eye of compassion.
I am ashamed to invite You
into my cluttered house
yet my heart aches
to be at home with you.
My hand is reaching for the door
I hear myself saying, Come on in
I have more room than I thought I had
Come on in, and be the only God in my life.
May this moment of homecoming last forever.
This prayer also takes me back to the promise I received years ago from the Lord, when I was praying for the salvation of ALL my family. The promise is in Acts 16:31, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with your entire household.” I can not tell you how many times I have tightly held on to the hope in those words, particularly when life has appeared so hopeless. Today I can say with thankfulness that I am witnessing that promise being fulfilled. More than anything else in the world, I want my family to be with me in the heavenly home that I am going to live in forever!
I’ll wrap up this week with a song that has always touched my heart in regards to this idea of “home.” I have always been moved by the music of Michael W. Smith, and especially the song he wrote that is called, I’ll Lead You Home. I use it in my clutter healing classes to remind us that God wants to be the One who will always lead us, and our "stuff," home. All we have to do is to ask Him into our lives! I never tire from hearing this song’s message.
I’ll wrap up this week with a song that has always touched my heart in regards to this idea of “home.” I have always been moved by the music of Michael W. Smith, and especially the song he wrote that is called, I’ll Lead You Home. I use it in my clutter healing classes to remind us that God wants to be the One who will always lead us, and our "stuff," home. All we have to do is to ask Him into our lives! I never tire from hearing this song’s message.
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