There's no place like Home!

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There's no place like home! It may be messed up, not perfect, or in great need cleaning... but it's mine! I like it best when it's clean... but still even still when there's work to be done.

 

A friend of mine owns some rental property. The lease for his recent tenants just ran out. They're moving into another home. And thus, he's renovating. Repainting. Repairing. Refixing what again needs to be done.

While painting in a closet he saw the above note written in crayon in a corner... "I love this house. Thank you, Mr. John Rite (Jon Wright). Love Beata C. Huntington." How preciously sweet is that! Jon told me, "I'll never paint over it."

For some crazy reason it made me want to cry when I saw it. I'm just that sappy... it doesn't take much to turn my facet on. Not only are my feelings wired to extra feeling, but my mind is crazily wired too. Here's where it went when I saw it:

It immediately reminded me of a different "house." God calls us His temple. His dwelling place. The skin He now lives in. The place where He camps. The place where He lives. And I could picture Him saying to me today, "I love this house! Thank you, Mrs. Sharon Lee. Love, Jesus." What an honor for my Savior to live here inside me!

It's not perfect. It needs renovating. It needs to be washed. It needs to be cleaned out. It needs repairs. It needs repainting and refixing, ransoming daily and redeeming, constantly restoring, and renewing. And as awesome as my Jesus is.... He's the Carpenter that came to do it! And as feeble as  I am,... as fallable and sinful and dysfuntional, He still loves "this house" (my skin tent) that He's chosen and where He now lives! He's still working to beautify it... and ready it for eternity's bliss!

And too...

Churches often get a bad rap. They're full of imperfect people. People that He's not finished working on yet. But still... it's His people, His body, His house, His tabernacle, His temple, His dwelling place.... and no doubt, though all of the work that's still to be done, He loves His "house." He's still working to build it.

There's no place like home, right? God loves the homes that He's picked to reside in. Again, woe at the honor that He'd live here inside it!