A House Is Not A Home Without Jesus
By: C. Mason Davis
Today’s Scripture
Joshua 24:15, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD," establishing the family's commitment to God as the foundation of the home.”
What does the phrase “a house is not a home without Jesus” mean to you? Think about that! If your answer is that true domestic life and a lasting home require a spiritual foundation built on faith in Jesus; you’re spot on. This phrase often emphasizes that a "house" is just a physical structure, but a "home" is a sanctuary that God built, through you, filled with His presence and love. This means that He fills and encourages people to make Jesus the center of their family life by building their homes on the principles of faith and love to create a spiritual home, starting with Jesus as its foundation. Matthew 7:24-27, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”
It has been said that a house built without God is destined to fail to become a real home. Psalm 127:1, states, "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain." Choosing God as the builder is seen as more important than any other factor in creating a strong and successful home.
But what if the house has already been built and you just move into it? What God means by Building a house of God is by filling it with family, love, and faith in Jesus Christ. The ideal "home" is described as a place where spiritual truths are passed down, love and dignity are shown to all, and broken hearts can be mended through faith in Christ. So many turn to churches to pray for their needs and never put a thought that their home is Jesus’s home too. That they can speak to Jesus in their own home just as they can in a church.
Be welcoming to having Jesus in your home and make Jesus the center of domestic life through prayer and following his teachings. This often serves as a call to action, encouraging people to consciously make a decision to build their homes around their faith, build their families on a foundation of love, and make a spiritual home. Hebrews 3:4: "For every house is built by some man; but he that built all things is God." This verse highlights that God is the ultimate builder, underscoring the importance of His role in not only creating the universe but also in the foundation of a home. Thus, a house is not a home. A house is a house, and it may be lovely to look at and fine to visit, but a house by itself is not a home. What is the difference?
Let me tell you a tale of two houses. These are the best of houses, these are the worst of houses. One is the best, the other is the worst. See if you can tell me which is a home.
One of those houses is big and beautiful. Built with all high end features, and furnished with nothing but the best, most expensive of everything. No one is allowed to touch anything or move anything. Everything has to be perfect and stay perfect. This house never looks lived in. The other house is described as needing a complete renovation that is barely in livable condition. Which one fits the description of your house? No need to answer that because we’re not here to judge anyone.
But home is where the stresses are brought and are dealt with. Home is not a mansion; nor built with museum-like perfection; home is where the issues of life get fought out, but they can be resolved, because home is where somebody loves you. Home is where somebody puts up with you. A house is just a shell, a showplace, a facade; a home is when you go there, they have to take you in. A house is not a home. Some say “It takes a heap o’ livin’ to make a house a home.” God wants us all to make our houses into a home. God wants to give us what we need to make our houses homes. That’s what God did when He chose to come in Jesus Christ and make His home among us. Psalms 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.” A house is not a home; God wants more for us than just a house. God wants to make our house a home.
A great many of us get busy building our reputations, our wealth, while raising children. We are very careful about how others perceive us. We want other people to think well of us. We want to be esteemed and envied in the community, respected in the family. We want to build a life that can be perceived as very materialistic even though we don’t see us that way. The trouble with that is that it is a lot like building the house that’s more like a museum: it’s a nice place to visit, but nobody can really live there, because real life is full of stresses and contradictions. 2 Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
Real homes have smudges on the wall. Or if you have small children, you have a lot of drawings on the walls made by the kids using permanent markers.
David, king of Israel, decided one day that it was time to build his reputation. David got it in his mind that he would create a monument by which others would recognize him. Oh, he didn’t put it that way, but that’s what it was. David decided that it was time to build a temple, a house for God to live in. And he even got the OK at first from God’s preacher, proving that not even ordained heads get everything right, just in case you didn’t already know that! But God overruled, for God saw what was really going on.
David wanted to build a brand spanking new house for God, and all of a sudden God says, No, I don’t want it?! Now what exactly was wrong with David’s building a house for God? Why would God forbid this man after His own heart? God saw that what David was after was a monument to David. This house of God that David proposed to build; it wasn’t for God, it was for the king’s reputation and ego. It might have had God’s name on it, but that was just a convenient cover-up; it was really all about David building a facade. And a facade is not a home; it’s not a place where you can live. A monument is not a home; it’s not the real you. It is designed only to impress others, to feed your ego, and nothing more.
Like David, we decide to do something dramatic and spectacular, and we convince ourselves it is for God. John 14:2, “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” Maybe we decide to be extra generous this Christmas; we’re going to give some really nice gifts. That’s not bad in and of itself. But who is that really for? The recipients? Or ourselves? Maybe we decide that this year we are going to give to missions, we are going to serve a meal at a shelter, we are going to sing for the homebound. And that’s great. That’s fine. But is it for them, or is it for us? Is it reputation building, or is it from a heart filled with compassion?
For God says, “I don’t want show. I don’t want empty nothings. I don’t want decorator show-houses. I want you. I want to live with you and in you. Monuments I don’t need, particularly since they are monuments you celebrate. I don’t want a house; I want a home. And a house is not a home without Him.
God doesn’t want you to build Him a house made out of materialism in the form of human beings. God didn’t want David to build something perfect, instead He wants to take the sorry state of humanity and shape that. He told David, forget about the cedar and the ceilings; forget about the stone and the slate. Come see what I am doing, David; I am giving myself to your son and to your son’s son and to your daughter, and to your daughter’s daughter. I am giving myself to your house, David, but not to a house of brick and mortar. I’m giving myself to a home of flesh and blood. Remember, David, a house is not a home. And I build homes.
God is not looking for crystalline perfection; He is looking for love, messy though it may be. He is looking for real, rough-edged men and women, into whose hearts He can come. The Lord wants to be in our hearts and in our homes. Isaiah 24:13, “My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.” He wants to be in the lives and in the homes of poor, lonely, distressed, and sinful people. He wants to be among those whose houses are not perfect, and neither are their lives, or so they think. He wants to settle down with those whose floors sag, and so do their spirits; with those whose windows are grimy, and so are their souls.
God’s agenda is people and making a home for Himself among all people. Hebrews 3:6, “But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto.” God’s agenda is lifting up the fallen, binding up the brokenhearted, healing the wounded, forgiving the flawed. God will not be impressed with Christmas trees, bows, ribbons, or presents; but He will bless us if in the rough and tumble of our lives, we find a need and fill it. Fill it with what? Faith and love in Jesus Christ. We find an itch and scratch it. We find a weary heart and comfort it. We find a hopeless mind and fill it with imagination. We find a lonely life and fill it with love. We find a wandering soul and bring it home. Proverbs 14:26, “In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.” God is always about building lives. Making homes, not just houses; making people whole, not building monuments.
Don’t build this house, God said to David. And not only because it would have been a monument to David, and not a temple for God. But also because that’s not God’s agenda. God’s agenda is not building houses, but homes. 2 Samuel 7:29, “Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.” God’s agenda is not building structures, but people. God’s agenda is not filling institutions, but filling spirits.
We invest ourselves in big dreams, plans, and the noble works of our imaginations; but God invests Himself in lives, hearts and souls. God builds not houses, but homes.
Your life does not have to be perfect; in fact, it cannot be.
It will not be. It is a lived-in life. You cannot fix it. You cannot clean it. You cannot make it good enough for Him. It’s not possible! And yet, look, He is full of grace and truth. That means, He wants to live here, mess and all! That’s the kind of Savior we need, one who will take us just as we are. Has your heart prepared Him room?
The Word became flesh and made His home among us. Jesus did not grow up in the palaces of privilege. He grew up an obscure child in an ordinary village in a third-rate province in a dusty corner of the Empire. A little like your street or mine. Though the mansions of eternity were His, He chose to make His home among our imperfection. John 14:2, “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” It is there we see His glory, full of grace and truth. Has your heart prepared Him room?
We know where home is. Home is where the stresses are brought and are dealt with. Home is not a museum-like perfection; home is where the issues of life get fought out, but they can be resolved, because home is where somebody loves you. As they say. “Home is where the heart is.” Proverbs 3:33, “The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous.” Home is where somebody puts up with you. Home is where Jesus Christ, the word made flesh, has come to dwell, for me, for you. Yes, it does take a heap o’ livin’ to make a house a home. O’come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee. Has your heart prepared Him room?
It is this I pray for all of us to remember: Your house is not a home without Jesus. Has your heart prepared Him room? Amen?
