God Speaking

“Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.””

(John 14: 23)

I have a dear friend who is in the process of selling and moving from her home, where she has lived for fifty years. She is going to a brand, new suite in her daughter’s home, but even though she is very happy and excited about this, she is flooded with memories and nostalgia as she sorts through all she has gathered over the many years she has been in this house, and deciding what comes with her, and what will be discarded can be painful. Often that old saying, There’s no place like home, is trotted out when people are either far away from home, or are going through the somewhat difficult process of moving from a well, loved abode like my friend, but I much prefer this saying, Home is where the heart is. I know my friend’s new suite will soon feel like home because she is moving to where she is deeply loved by her family, and that is where her heart will be.

Scripture emphasises this in a very personal way, when Jesus promises that those who love him and strive to obey his commands, will be blessed by the Father and the Son coming to live with them (John 14: 23). What he is really saying is that our hearts will be where he will dwell.  When Paul is writing to the Ephesians he uses that beautiful word, dwell, to describe in a deeper way the intimate way the Lord is willing to reside with us.

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” (Ephesians 3: 16 – 17)

Even though my friend is moving into a beloved daughter’s house, life is going to be different for her as both the family and she, adjust to this new way of life.  So too, that is what happens to us when we invite the Lord into our hearts. Often when we change residences renovations are in order and another one of those old sayings They had a change of heart also applies to what happens to our hearts when the Lord moves in.  Our hearts change. We long to discard what is not worthy in those dark corners, so there is plenty of room for his light. We don’t want to be divided in our loyalties. We want him to be number one.  We are open to any renovations he sees fit to make.

This is the Father’s promise if we do just that.

“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 11: 19)