In my adult life, I have moved many times and each time, we left a home. The homes we occupied were filled with our treasures, memories, and love. One thing became more and more clear with each move… we had to go so that someone else could occupy and fill that space. Though most of the time we were excited about the move, other times we left in sadness with only trust in the Lord that He had good things still ahead in the future.
The trust that Jesus had in His Father was perfect when He left heaven and came to be with us—our Emmanuel. He left the perfect fellowship of the Trinity to make room for us, His treasure, who needed rescue from the hands of a thief who only comes to “steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10) because of the impact of chosen rebellion… sin.
Sin inhabits the homes of our hearts and God, as the original owner, sent His son to reclaim what belonged to Him. C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying, “There is no neutral ground in the universe.” Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, each person has the dignity of choice to follow the Lordship of the one and only true God. Jesus made the way so that each person had the opportunity to choose who occupied the home of their heart.
If you are a follower of Jesus having accepted His Lordship, I remind you that each day we are still faced with a choice to choose life or death, blessings or curses as we offer our lives as a witness to others by the way we live and love.
But maybe you are reading this and still question the validity of Jesus as Lord and Savior. I urge you to take a look at the Scriptures we have been studying together in the book of John and consider—or reconsider— Jesus. Look at Him as a man and dare to consider Him as God who loved and “demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”(Romans 5:8). To do this, He had to leave the perfection of heaven.
Where you choose to live is your choice, but you must offer the occupancy over to someone else. I pray today, with you and for you, that Jesus makes a home in your heart so that your permanent residency can be found with Him.
Jessica Klootwyk
Group & Women’s Discipleship Director