Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.’ (John 14:23)
When I began parish ministry, I did home visits nearly every afternoon. Most of the time, people were glad to welcome me into their homes. There were, though, times when people would hide and pretend they weren’t there.
Jesus is standing at our door—the door to our life. When we hear Him knocking, do we run to the door and welcome Him? Or, do we see all the mess in our life, panic, and pretend we aren’t at home?
Before we open the door of our life to Jesus, we need to know that He doesn’t want to simply visit. He doesn’t want to stay for a few days in some spiffed-up guestroom with the little soaps and the perfect towels that the rest of the family don’t get to use.
Jesus wants to move in and stay. He wants to see and experience every part of our life. He wants to eat with us, do chores with us, relax and play with us. He wants access to our attic and closets, our basement, and our garage. Instead of being a guest, Jesus wants total ownership. He wants that for His sake. He wants that for us.
There’s a paradox about Jesus moving in. We might think that the more He moves in, the less home we would have. But that isn’t the case. The more Jesus moves in, the more we’ll be at home in our own life. If we have Jesus, or rather if He has us, we’ll be at home. If we don’t have Jesus, we’ll never be at home, no matter how many houses we have.
Jesus stands at the door knocking. If you haven’t already let Him in, I encourage you to invite Him in. He wants to be at home in you and you to be at home in Him. If you invited Jesus into your heart a long time ago, I encourage you to give thanks to Him for making you at home with God.
Reflection Questions:
- Visualize Jesus standing at your door. When you peek out and see Him, what’s your first instinct? Do you run to the door and invite Him in? Or, do you first want to clean up things before you do? Or, do you try to pretend that you aren’t home?
- What does your reaction to Jesus standing at your door reveal about your faith? What would it take for you to run to Jesus, regardless of what your house, your life, looked like? And if you’re worried about how messy your life is, what would it be like for Him to clean things up?
- How do you feel about Jesus wanting “total ownership” of your life? Is there anything you would prefer to keep for yourself? If so, what might that be?