Let me show you around and point out some of the
features of the home so that you may be more comfortable. I want you to enjoy our time together.” He was glad to come and seemed delighted to
be given a place in my ordinary, little heart.
[ii]
The Study
The first room we
looked at together was the study—the library.
Let us call it the study of the mind.
Now in my home this room of the mind is a small room with thick walls. But it is an important room. In a sense, it is the control room of the
house. He entered with me and looked
around at the books in the bookcase, the magazines on the table…pictures on the
walls.
As I followed his gaze, I became
uncomfortable. Strangely enough, I had
not felt bad about this room before, but now that He was there with me looking
at these things, I was embarrassed.
There were some books on the shelves his eyes were too pure to look
at. On the table were a few magazines a
Christian has no business reading. As
for the pictures on the walls—the imaginations and thoughts of my mind—some of
these were shameful.
Red-faced,
I turned to him and said, “Master, I know this room really needs to be cleaned
up and made over. Will you help me shape
it up and change it to the way it ought to be?”
“Certainly,” he
replied. “I’m glad to help you! I’ve come to handle things like this! First of all, take all the material you are
reading and viewing which are not true, good, pure and helpful, and throw them
out! Now put on the empty shelves the
books of the Bible. Fill the library
with the Scriptures and meditate on them day and night. As for the pictures on the walls, you will
have difficulty controlling these images, but I have something that will help.”
He gave me a full-sized portrait
of himself. “Hang this centrally,” he
said, “on the wall of the mind.” I did,
and I have discovered through the years that when my thoughts are centered on
Christ, the awareness of his presence, purity and power causes wrong and impure
thoughts to back away. So he has helped
me to bring my thoughts under his control, but the struggle remains.
If you
have difficulty with this little room of the mind, let me encourage you to
bring Christ there. Pack it full with
the Word of God, study it, meditate on it and keep clearly before you the presence
of the Lord Jesus.
The
Dining Room
From the study we
went into the dining room, the room of appetites and desires. Now this was a large room, a most important
place to me. I spent a lot of time and hard work trying to satisfy all my
wants.
I told
Him, “This is a favorite room. I’m sure you will be pleased with what we
serve here.”
He
seated himself at the table and inquired, “What is on the menu for dinner
tonight?”
“Well,”
I said, “my favorite dishes: money, academic degrees, stocks, with
newspaper articles of fame and fortune as side dishes.” These were the things I liked, thoroughly
secular fare. There was nothing so very
bad in any of them, but it was not really the kind of food which would feed the
soul and satisfy true spiritual hunger.
When the plates were
placed before my new friend, He said nothing.
However, I observed that he did not eat.
I asked, somewhat disturbed, “Savior, don’t you like this food? What is the trouble?”
He
answered, “I have food to eat you do not know of. My food is to do the will of him that sent
me.” He looked at me again and said, “If
you want food that really satisfies you, do the will of your heavenly
Father. Put his pleasure before your
own. Stop striving for your own desires,
your own ambitions, [and your] own
satisfactions. Seek to please him. That food will really satisfy you. Try a bit of it!”
And
there about the table he gave me a taste of doing God’s will. What flavor!
There is no food like it in [the entire] world. It alone satisfies. At the end everything else leaves you
hungry.
What’s the menu in
the dining room of our desires? What
kind of food are we serving our divine companion and serving ourselves? [“Not
everything that the world offers—physical gratification, greed, and extravagant
lifestyles—comes from the Father. It comes from the world.”[iii]]… Are we finding God’s
will to be our soul-satisfying meat and drink?
The Living Room
We moved next into the living room.
This was a quiet, comfortable room with a warm atmosphere. I liked it.
It had a fireplace, sofa, overstuffed chairs, a bookcase and an intimate
atmosphere.
He
also seemed pleased with it. He said,
“Indeed, this is a delightful room.
Let’s come here often. It’s
secluded and quiet, and we can have good talks and fellowship together.”
Well,
naturally, as a young Christian I was thrilled.
I couldn’t think of anything I would rather do than have a few minutes
alone with Christ in close companionship.
He
promised, “I will be here every morning early.
Meet Me here and we will start the day together.”
So,
morning after morning, I would go downstairs to the living room. He would take a book of the Bible from the
bookcase, open it, and we would read it together. He would unfold to me the wonder of God’s
saving truth recorded on its pages and make my heart sing as he shared all he
had done for me and would be to me.
Those times together were
wonderful. Through the Bible and his
Holy Spirit he would talk to me. In
prayer I would respond. So our
friendship deepened in these quiet times of personal conversation.
However,
under the pressure of many responsibilities, little by little, this time began
to be shortened. Why, I’m not sure. Somehow I assumed I was just too busy to give
special, regular time to be with Christ.
This was not a deliberate decision, you understand; it just seemed to
happen that way.
Eventually not only was the period shortened,
but I began to miss days now and then, such as during midterms or finals. Matters of urgency demanding my attention
were continually crowding out the quiet times of conversation with Jesus. Often I would miss it two days in a row or
more.
One
morning, I recall rushing down the steps in a hurry to be on my way to an
important appointment.
As I passed the
living room, the door was open. Glancing
in I saw a fire in the fireplace and Jesus sitting there. Suddenly, in dismay, it came to me, “He is my
guest. I invited him into my heart! He has come as my Savior and Friend to live
with me. Yet here I am neglecting
him.”
I
stopped, turned and hesitantly went in.
With downcast glance I said, “Master, I’m sorry! Have you been here every morning?”
“Yes,”
he said, “I told you I would be here to meet with you.” I was even more ashamed! He had been faithful in spite of my
faithlessness. I asked him to forgive me
and he did, as he always does when we acknowledge our failures and [wants]
to do the right thing.
He
said, “The trouble is that you have been thinking of the quiet time, of Bible
study and prayer, as a means for your own spiritual growth. This is true, but you have forgotten that
this time means something to me also.
Remember, I love you. At a great
cost I have redeemed you. I value your
fellowship. Just to have you look up
into my face warms my heart. Don’t
neglect this hour if only for my sake.
Whether or not you want to be with me, remember I want to be with
you. I really love you!”
You, know, the truth
that Christ wants my fellowship, that he loves me, wants me to be with him and
waits for me, has done more to transform my quiet time with God than any other
single fact. Don’t let Christ wait alone
in the living room of your heart, but every day find a time and place when,
with the Word of God and in prayer, you may be together with Him.
The Workroom
Before long he asked,
“Do you have a workroom in your house?”
Out in
the garage of the home of my heart I had a workbench and some equipment, but I
was not doing much with it. Once in a
while I would play around at making a few little gadgets, but I wasn’t
producing anything substantial.
I took Him out there.
He
looked over the workbench and the few talents and skills I had. He said, “This is fairly well furnished. What are you producing with your life for the
kingdom of God?” He looked at one or two
of the little toys that I had thrown together on the bench and he held one up
to me. “Is this the sort of thing you
are doing for others in your Christian life?”
I felt
terrible! “Lord, that’s the best I can
do. I know it isn’t much. I’m ashamed to say that with my awkwardness
and limited ability, I don’t think I’ll ever do much more.”
“Would you like to do
better?” He asked.
“You
know I would!” I replied.
“Come, relax in me and let my Spirit work through you. I know you are unskilled, clumsy and awkward,
but the Spirit is the Master worker. If
he controls your heart and your hands, he will work through you. Now turn around.” Then putting his great strong arms around me
and his hands under [my hand] He picked up the tools and began to work through
me. “Relax. You are still too tense. Let go—let me do the work!”
It
amazes me what his skilled hands can do through mine if I only trust him and
let him have his way. I am very far from
satisfied with the product that is being turned out. I still get in his way at times. There’s much more that I need to learn. But I do know that whatever has been produced
for God has been through him and through the power of his Spirit in me.
Don’t
be discouraged because you cannot do much for God. It’s not our ability but our availability
that’s important. Give what you are to
Christ. Be sensitive and responsive to
what he wants to do. Trust him. He will surprise you with what he can do
through you!
The [Recreational] Room
I remember the time
he inquired about the
[recreational] room, where I went
for fun and fellowship. I was hoping he
would not ask me about that. There were
certain associations and activities I wanted to keep for myself. I did not think Jesus would enjoy or approve
of them. I evaded the question.
However,
one evening when I was on my way out with some of my buddies for a night on the
town, he was at the door and stopped me with a glance. “Are you going out?”
I
answered, “Yes.”
“Good,”
he said, “I would like to go with you.”
“Oh,”
I replied rather awkwardly. “I don’t
think, Lord, that you would really enjoy where we are going. Let’s go out together tomorrow night. Tomorrow night we can go to a Bible class or
a social at the church, but tonight I have another engagement.”
“As you wish,” was
his comment. “Only I thought when I came
into your home we were going to do everything together—be close
companions! Just know that I am willing
to go with you!”
“Well,”
I said, “we’ll go someplace together tomorrow night!”
That
evening I spent some miserable hours. I
felt rotten! What kind of a friend was I
to Jesus? Deliberately leaving him out
of part of my life, doing things and going places that I knew very well he
would not enjoy?
When I returned that evening,
there was a light in his room and I went up to talk it over with him. I acknowledged, “Lord, I have learned my
lesson. I know now I can’t have a good
time if you are not along. From now on
we will do everything together!”
Then
we went down together into the [recreational] room of the house. He transformed it. He brought new friendships, new excitement, [and new]
joys. Laughter and music have
been ringing in the house ever since.
With a twinkle in his eye, he smiled, “You thought that with me around
you wouldn’t have much fun, didn’t you?
Remember, I have come [‘…that you can have the true
happiness that I have. I want you to be completely happy.’[v]]”
The Bedroom
One day when we were
in my bedroom he asked me about the picture next to my bed.
“That’s
a picture of my girlfriend,” I told him.
Though I knew my relationship with my girlfriend was a good one, I felt
funny talking to him about it. She and I
were struggling with some issues and I didn’t want to discuss them with
him. I tried to change the subject.
But
Jesus must have known what I was thinking.
“You are beginning to question my teaching on sex, aren’t you? That intercourse is only for those who are
joined in the covenant of marriage?
You’re feeling I may be asking something unnatural if not impossible for
you. You’re afraid my will on this will
limit the full enjoyment of life and love.
Isn’t that true?”
“Yes,”
I confessed.
“Then
listen carefully to what I am saying,” he continued. “I forbid adultery and premarital sex not
because sex is bad but because it is good.
Beyond the physical ecstasy it is a means of bonding two lives in
deepening love. It has the creative
power to bring human life into being.
Sex is powerful. Used properly sex has tremendous potential
for good. Used improperly, it destroys
the good. For this reason God intends it
to be expressed only within the commitment of a loving life partnership. There is far more to love than just sex.
“Let
me help you in your relationship with the opposite sex. If you should fail and feel shame and guilt,
know I still love you and will remain with you.
Talk to me about it! Acknowledge
the wrong! Take steps to avoid it
happening again! Rely on my strength to
keep you from falling and to lead you into a relationship of love in marriage
where two truly become one in me.”
The Hall Closet
There’s one more
matter of crucial consequence I would like to share with you. One day I found him waiting for me at the
front door. An arresting look was in his
eye. As I entered, he said to me,
“There’s a peculiar odor in the house.
Something must be dead around here.
It’s upstairs. I think it is in
the hall closet.”
As
soon as he said this I knew what he was talking about. Indeed there was a small closet up there on
the hall landing, just a few feet square.
In that closet behind lock and key I had one or two little personal
things I did not want anybody to know about.
Certainly I did not want Christ to see them. They were dead and rotting things leftover
from the old life—not wicked, but not right and good to have in a Christian
life.
Yet I loved them. I wanted them so much for myself I was really
afraid to admit they were there.
Reluctantly I went up the stairs with him and as we mounted, the odor
became stronger and stronger. He pointed
at the door and said, “It’s in there. [Something smells rotten.]”
It
made me angry! That’s the only way I can
put it. I had given him access to the
study, the dining room, the living room, the workroom, the [recreational]
room, the bedroom and now he was asking me about a little two-by-four
closet. I said to [me], “This is too much! I am not going to give him the key.”
“Well,” he responded,
reading my thought, “If you think I am going to stay up here on the second
floor with this smell, you are mistaken.
I will take my bed out on the back porch or somewhere else. I’m certainly not going to stay around that.” And I saw him start down the stairs.
When you have come to
know and love Jesus Christ, one of the worst things that can happen is to sense
him withdrawing his face and fellowship.
I had to give in. “I’ll give you
the key,” I said sadly, “but you’ll have to open the closet and clean it
out. I haven’t the strength to do
it.”
“I
know,” he said. “I know you
haven’t. Just give me the key. Just authorize me to handle that closet and I
will.” So, with trembling fingers, I
passed the key over to him. He took it
from my hand, walked over to the door, opened it, entered it, took out the
putrefying stuff that was rotting there and threw it all away. Then he cleansed the closet, painted it and
fixed it up all in a moment’s time. Immediately a fresh, fragrant breeze
swept through the house.
The whole atmosphere changed. What release and victory to have that dead
thing out of my life! No matter what sin
or what pain there might be in my past, Jesus is ready to forgive, to heal and
to make whole.
Transferring the Title
Then a thought
came to me. I said to myself, “I have
been trying to keep this heart of mine clean and available for Christ but it is
hard work. I start on one room and no
sooner have I cleaned it than I discover another room is dirty. I begin on the second room and the first one
is already dusty again. I’m getting
tired trying to maintain a clean heart and an obedient life. I just am not up to it!”
Suddenly
I asked, “Lord, is there a possibility you would be willing to manage the whole
house and operate it for me just as you did that closet? Could I give to you the responsibility of
keeping my heart what it ought to be and myself doing what I ought to be
doing?”
I
could see his face light up as he replied, “I’d love to! This is exactly what I came to do. You can’t live out the Christian life in your
own strength. That is impossible. Let me do it for you and through you. That’s the only way it will really work! But,” he added slowly, “I am not the owner of
this house. Remember, I’m here as your
guest. I have no authority to take
charge since the property is not mine.”
In a
flash it all became clear. Excitedly I
exclaimed, “Lord, you have been my guest, and I have been trying to play the
host. From now on you are going to be
the owner and master of the house. I’m
going to be the servant!”
Running
as fast as I could to the strongbox, I took out the title deed to the house
describing its assets and liabilities, its condition, location and
situation. Then rushing back to him, I
eagerly signed it over giving title to him alone for time and eternity. Dropping to my knees, I presented it to him,
“Here it is, all that I am and have forever.
Now you run the house. Just let
me stay with you as houseboy and friend.”
He took my life that
day and I can give you my word, there is no better way to live the Christian
life. He knows how to keep it and use
it. A deep peace settled down on my soul
that has remained. I am His and He is [my Friend] forever. May Christ settle down and be at home as
Lord of your heart also.
[i]
The term, “home sweet home” is used
as an expression of one's pleasure or relief at being in or returning to one's
own home.
[ii]
This entire post is a book excerpt from My
Heart-Christ’s Home by Robert Boyd Munger (www.leplume.com). Notice it is
in a different font (Century) than my normal font (Arial). This is to
distinguish the entire post as something I did not create.
[iii] I John 2:16, NOG
[iv] John 15:5,
NCV
[v]
John 15:11, ERV
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