Home Sweet Home

“Extreme Home Makeover,” “My Lottery Dream Home,” “Love It or List It,” “Fixer Upper” – We love shows about homes. We imagine that if we can find the right one, then everything will fall into place, and life will be good.

Dream Home

We like shows about big mansions and cozy cabins. Some of us dream of living in an old stone castle, while others prefer modern contemporary cubes. We picture ourselves relaxing at a quiet lake house or enjoying a hot cup of cocoa on the porch of a mountain retreat getaway. Our thoughts can just as quickly transport us to a restored country farmhouse and just as quickly back to a beach-front home on a white sand coastline. What picture comes into your mind when you think of your perfect home? What floorplan, furnishings, ceiling height, paint colors, and window treatments are there? Are there pictures on the walls? How is your lawn or garden? I bet you have specific ideas, concepts, and designs.

And how does this perfect home make you feel? What does it represent? Why is it just right? Is it the look and feel of the place, or is there something else? Who is sharing this living space with you? A spouse? A child or two or three? Do friends and family come over to visit? It’s been said that home is where the heart is. I’ve also heard the sentiment that home is wherever my family gathers. Whatever it is that makes home so special, there is one thing we can agree on: We all desire to “be home.”

We Dwell In Christ

Think of Psalm 23. King David concludes this well-known Psalm by confidently saying that goodness and mercy will follow him all the days of his life, and he will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. A similar sentiment is written in Psalm 84:10, where the writer states that one day in the LORD’s court is better than a thousand elsewhere. And to be a doorkeeper in God’s house is better than any other option. The point is this: The best possible home to live in is wherever God is present. 

And this is the future, the destiny, of all who are “in Christ.”

For those of us who are “in Christ” (i.e., at home with Jesus), there is a whole list of benefits. See Ephesians 1 for the complete compilation. Every spiritual blessing. Holy and blameless. Adopted. Redeemed. Forgiven. Given an inheritance. Sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our coming inheritance. That’s why being “in Christ” is undoubtedly home sweet home.

At the beginning of this devotional, I had you imagine a perfect home. That activity led us to think about the best home, which is “in Christ.” But we can’t stop with just mental exercise. Now, take a moment and think about air travel. You can’t merely look at an airplane and be inspired by it to reach your destination. You can’t try and copy it by holding your arms out like wings and running fast enough to get airborne. No, you must be “in” the plane to get to the destination.

A Homeschool “in Christ”

The best home is one that is “in Christ.” Likewise, the best homeschool is one that is “in Christ.” When Christ is the foundation of the home, then it can withstand the storms of life. When Christ is the protective covering, like a roof, the outside influences and elements stay outside. When the home and family life instill a biblical worldview to its occupants, it’s like Christ is the window through which all events and issues are seen, interpreted, and understood. When peace, joy, and laughter are shared in a home, I picture Christ giving a warm, gentle hug as though a porch is wrapping its arms around the main box of a house. And when sleep is sweet and restful, then a home is surely blessed by the God that is love. This is a home where God is worshipped. It’s part of the home’s culture, its very DNA.

As a homeschooling proponent and advocate, I believe homeschooling has all the potential to be the epitome of the most desirable home in the neighborhood. Especially when the home educating is done “In Christ.”

A while back, I had you think about traveling “in” a plane. Now, let’s switch gears a bit. Put yourself in the Titanic. That’s right; I’m talking about the massive water vessel that sank in April of 1912. If you were on that fateful voyage, in the manmade ship at the time it was sinking, the sheer size of the craft meant that you were going down. But when you and your home are “in Christ,” then the sheer buoyancy of Christ and His resurrection means that if you are in Him, then you are certain to live. This is one of the distinct differences between being at home in Christ and just being in a home without Christ. With Christ, there is the assurance of eternal salvation, something a brick-and-mortar dwelling alone could never promise you.

Conclusion

Life has its ups and downs. You might find yourself in a good or bad place, happy or sad. It really doesn’t matter if you are currently in love or in trouble or in suffering. The only thing that matters is being in Christ and making your home with Him. Then, like King David, you will be able to say that goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life.

Prayer

Dear Father in Heaven,

My heart’s desire is to spend eternity with You, at home in heaven. I can only imagine what it will be like to live in that mansion that You have built and prepared for me. The more I live this life on earth, the more I realize this is not my home. I am meant to be with You and to enjoy Your presence. That will be home, sweet home, in the truest sense.

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.