My Heart > All the Heavens

Tis the season for switching out home decorations. I have friends who have already switched out their fall leaves for holly and mistletoe. So quickly, the pumpkins and gourds are replaced with festive garland and pine cones (scented with cinnamon). Our kids went from planning their costumes to writing to Santa (or submitting a wish-list) all while parents try again and again to explain the real reason for the season. Many of my friends have already finished putting up their Christmas trees (yes, a lot of them have more than one). I look around my home and chuckle because the seasonal décor wouldn’t stand a chance.

At best, we put up one Christmas tree and a few seasonal objects are dispersed here and there. We might even put up a wreath, but that’s really going above and beyond the norm. While I enjoy the simpler life of not doing the seasonal décor, every now and then, I would love to “get into the spirit” of going all out with having Christmas vomit throughout my home. On the other hand, I’ve found that I’m quite content with what we have and how we celebrate the holidays. Are there things I want to change about my home? Absolutely! But seasonal décor doesn’t change anything in regards to that bit of touch-up paint that’s needed here and there or that some trim needs to be hung in several areas.

I look around at my home and can’t help but think about my childhood. I remember getting in trouble for stuff being left on the stairs. Instead of my parents taking my belongs (that I’d left scattered throughout the main living area) upstairs to my room, they would stack them at the bottom of the stairs for me to take up on my next trip. I used to get grounded till my room was clean, plus one day. So, I would clean my room and still be grounded… for another day. Little truths, life lessons, would be added and always had motives rooted in faith (or could be applied to faith).

One such lesson had to do with the bride being ready for the bridegroom. Matthew 25:1-13 tells us of ten brides. Five of the brides were ready (had oil for their lamps) and the other five had to go off and buy oil at the last minute. Once they came back after buying oil, the doors to the wedding banquet were closed and they couldn’t get in. This was explained out to mean that we need to be ready; we don’t know when Jesus is coming back or how long it will take – so we need to be ready.

Another not-so-eloquent (or Biblically based) bit of advice I remember is that you never know what the day will bring, so make sure you have your legs and pits shaved and have on clean underwear. Again, you always want to be ready. I still chuckle at this bit of advice, but it does hold truth. I’m not sure how mortified one can be if they’re in a coma or dancing in Heaven with Jesus, but yes, wear clean underwear.

Another life lesson about being ready has to do with unexpected visitors. This is a bit of an issue in my home because, in addition to a soon-to-graduate teen, I have three very active children under the age of ten and they love to play with Legos, blocks, and use the couch cushions to build forts (along with every blanket we own). Is my home ready for the King of Kings to come knocking? Well, not quite. Do I think that, if invited to do so, He would get on the floor and wrestle with my kids and crawl through their cushion palace? Yes!

All of this (maybe not the clean underwear or shaving bit), got me thinking about dwellings. My dwelling, my home, is far from ever being considered for a feature in Southern Living or even an honorable mention by Martha Stewart. My shelves are lucky if they get dusted once a month, my three-year-old views all of the knick-knacks and framed photos as her own personal treasures, and my kitchen doubles as an office and children’s art studio. I’m pretty sure that every home has a junk drawer (or two) and there’s always a place that keys and mail get placed that may or may not be convenient to the flow of the home.

How often do we hide our mess behind cabinets or closet doors? Bathroom drawers are pretty chaotic even with the best cubbies for organization. And when we “simplify” our lives and de-clutter, there’s always going to be something that’s sealed in a box for at least 9-10 months of the year (seasonal décor). Even the most disciplined person out there can fall an emotional purchase; something as small and insignificant as something that’s just not on the list… but why not? The main point that was always hammered into my skull was that we needed to be ready.

How in the world can I get ready for Jesus? What does my house have to do with the KING popping in? Whether He were to physically knock on my door and come sit at my table or recline on the couch, I’m pretty sure He would already know ahead of time that I have dusty shelves, dirty dishes (I always have a dirty dish), the laundry – oh the laundry! – and my bed may or may not be made. He even knows if I shaved my pits. Are we mortified yet? My home is in no condition to house God!

So, naturally, I’ve been doing some reading. Unfortunately for my house, it’s not reading about getting organized or becoming a better homemaker, but about God’s dwelling place. A popular song I grew up hearing was “Heaven is a Wonderful Place” (ever heard of Psalty the Songbook?) Heaven was always described to me as rich and lavish and, to a child’s comprehension – breakable. If we have fragile things in our home and get scolded for rough-housing, I always thought I would have to tip-toe down the streets of gold. I’m not too sure He’s worried about anything in heaven being fragile, especially since He chose to pay it all so that we could dwell in the very house that He labored to prepare.

If there’s any slight comparison to the intricate details of Heaven’s splendor to be found on earth, it might be the temple Solomon built. There’s so much detail included in the preparation and building of God’s temple – all of it outlined in I Chronicles 22 and even into II Chronicles. The sheer magnitude of wealth that went into the temple, the great number of people involved (over 150,000 people – mentioned twice in II Chronicles 2), and the details of the furnishings is a bit overwhelming (no horseplay going on in there!). There’s more that went into God’s temple than my home more times over than I can even fathom.

The part about all of this that leapt off the page and smacked me in the face was something said by King Solomon when dedicating the Lord’s temple. II Chronicles 6:18-21 (NIV) “But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.”

Wow… Not only did God really dwell on earth with men, but He became one. Because of His sacrifice on the cross, He then went further and, for those who open up the door, made His dwelling in us. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20 (NIV).

The temple that Solomon built was just a shadow. A shadow of the true temple. Each of us, individually, is the temple of the Most High God. He heard our plea, our crying and groaning (Exodus 3:7-10), and His attention is always on us. I was sharing some of this with Gracie, our seven-year-old, and explained that even the wisest man in the world (Solomon) couldn’t understand it – even all of the heavens couldn’t hold God, but here’s this temple he built for God to dwell in. I told Gracie, “But what’s really crazy-cool is that God’s dwelling is inside all of us. That means that anyone who stands too close should feel God’s presence.”

My house doesn’t have beautiful Christmas décor in every room. It usually looks rather disheveled and only put-together after the kids go to bed (no promises for about 12 hours during the day). And I may or may not have my legs shaved. But I have the presence of God radiating off of me because His dwelling, this child’s heart, cannot possibly come close to containing the Almighty God. He could have chosen to stay in the heavens, but they couldn’t contain His desire for me. He saw my heart and the mere possibility of a relationship and He chose me. He’s knocking on your door, too. If you haven’t already, open the door of your heart and invite Him in. You’ll soon find out that His goodness cannot be contained.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (NIV)