At Home in Christ
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”—John 15:4 (ESV)
When I first started working on this series, I was thinking about how I might make the most of a smaller home space as I downsized. In a way, it is my attempt to think out a hurdle in my own heart to the idea of moving.
As this series has unfolded, I am beginning to realize something: the ministry of the home is not ultimately located in the home. It is located in the person who tends it. You and I are what makes a house a home.
And that is an encouragement to me—and I hope to you. That means that all the benefits and blessings of home is not something that requires a particular square footage or a guest room or an impressive table. It is something we embody and bring into our spaces.
I carry welcome with me to church with a crockpot and invite people to pull up a seat around the rectangular tables set with paper plates. I bring warmth and care when I visit someone who is ill. I create safe spaces for people in a coffee shop as I listen to someone share their burdens. It goes wherever I go.
Connecting the dots, for me, then, is adding this growing realization to what I’ve already been writing about: Home is a fruit of being at home first with Christ. It is resting in His love, trusting in His ways, believing in His promises. It is one of the fruits of abiding with Him.
The Ministry I Carry
This is what allows me to minister to people no matter where I go, no matter where I live. This is important to me as I anticipate moving from the home I currently live. I have spent almost half my life here and am having a hard time imagining myself anywhere else.
Yes, it is imperfect, as I am still in process. But as I continue to grow in my own relationship with God, this spirit of home that I carry with me is one of the fruits of abiding with Him. Ultimately, it is the nature of Christ being formed in me that I hope others see, wherever I am.
Think about it: Jesus had no home during his ministry. He had no place to lay his head. But as He walked this life, he still was able to gather people, feed them and welcome them into his family. He carried the kingdom with him and wherever he went people experienced something that felt like home.
I am learning to see, as I write this series, that the most important features of a welcoming home begin with me, resting in Christ. Then I can pass this on to others wherever I go. I am not limited to doing this only in a beautifully appointed and spacious home.
This is what I want every woman reading this to understand about your home—whatever its size, whatever its imperfections, whatever season you’re in: the ministry potential of your ordinary home is not determined by what your home has.
Rather, it is determined by the presence of God who is making his dwelling in you, who is building his people from one believer to another into a temple not made with hands. This is what equips us to use whatever space He has blessed us with to minister to others.
Next Steps
This series was personal before it was public. I was making a theological and practical argument to myself, working out whether the ministry my husband and I have desired to offer is possible even if we downsized considerably. The answer I arrived at is a resounding yes!
Not because I have resolved every uncertainty. I haven't.
There are still conversations ahead with my husband about vision and rhythms for this anticipated new reality still to come. There is relational and emotional preparation still needed, not just decluttering. There is the honest acknowledgment that warmth and welcome don’t automatically lead to connectedness and joy, and that will require investing in relationships and doing the hard work of building them.
But I am looking forward to the freedom that purpose and clarity bring. Now, as I do the hard work of parting with things, I realize I don’t need to possess a lot to live a life with purpose and meaning. And that alone makes me feel lighter already.
From My Home to Yours
What is one thing you can begin today to change your posture towards home? What is one small act of tending the space you have been given out of the blessings you already have in Christ? What element of home can you bring with you to others?
