What Jesus Says About His Home in the Heart

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith....

Ephesians 3:16, 17

In Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, we find these words: "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith...," or, as another has translated, "That Christ may settle down and be at home in your hearts by faith."

   Without question, one of the most remarkable Christian doctrines is that Jesus Christ Himself, through the presence of the Holy Spirit, will actually enter a heart, settle down there, and be at home. Christ will make the human heart His abode.

   Our Lord said to His disciples, "...If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will

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come to him, and make our home with him" (John 14:23, RSV). It was difficult for them to understand what He was saying. How was it possible for Him to make His abode with them in this sense?

   It is interesting that our Lord used the same word here that He gave them in the fourteenth chapter of John. "...I go and prepare a place for you... that where I am, you may be also" (John 14:3, RSV). Our Lord was promising His disciples that, just as He was going to heaven to prepare a place for them and would welcome them one day, it was possible for them now to prepare a place for Him in their hearts. He would come and make His home with them within. They could not understand this. How could it be? Then came Pentecost and the Spirit of the living Christ was given to the church and they knew what He meant. God did not dwell in Herod's temple in Jerusalem nor in a temple made with hands. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, God would dwell in human personality. The body of the believer would be the temple of the living God, and the human heart would be the home of Jesus Christ.

   There is a picture in the gospels of a home where our Lord was always welcome and where He often returned with delight. It was the home of Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus, just outside Jerusalem. Often, on His way to the great city, our Lord went to this home and found rest and refreshment from the weary journey. Or, returning from Jerusalem after having spent a day beset with antagonism, He sought refuge and companionship in the home of His friends. How grateful He must have been for the freedom and the love which they offered Him in that home! There He was welcomed and royally received. But think also what our Lord

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must have brought into that home when He came. He brought His own radiant presence, His peace and His power. He promised them, "...if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God" (John 11:40). They saw the glory of God in the raising of Lazarus to life at Christ's spoken word.

   This same Lord is with us. These hearts of ours may be just as truly a home for Jesus Christ as the house in which Mary, Martha, and Lazarus dwelt so long ago. We think of our own bodies as a structure — the walls, flesh and blood, the door, the human will. If Jesus Christ is welcomed there, He will settle down and be at home.

   I would like to tell you how I have come to think of Christ dwelling in my heart. I will use the first person singular only to make it more vivid. There have been two major events in my life. One was the step of marriage. I recall my first reactions to the matter of matrimony. When I was single, many said to me, "You ought to marry. Your life would be more complete." I would agree with them in theory. But when I thought of my independence in contrast to some of the obligations and responsibilities of matrimony, I was rather hesitant. The longer one waits, the more cautious one becomes. Then one day, a very charming young lady walked across my path, and immediately I became interested in her. I came to know her better, and soon, in spite of myself, all my hesitancy and caution regarding married life were gone. I could not think of anything I wanted to do more than to spend my life with her. We were married, and I have never regretted that step. She was the one for me. I have found in that relationship satisfaction, joy, and real delight.

   The other major event was receiving Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. To be frank, I was very cautious about this

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also. I treasured my independence. I liked to order my life the way I pleased, and I felt that Jesus Christ would have a narrowing and confining influence. If He really were alive, as others said, and if I committed myself to Him unreservedly, He might direct me into paths I did not desire to enter. But God in His infinite mercy gave me a good look at Christ. He attracted me. He won me until I desired Him and no longer desired my own independence. One evening I invited Him into my heart. What an entrance He made! It was not a spectacular, emotional thing, but very real. Something happened at the very center of my life. He came into the darkness of my heart and turned on the light. He built a fire on the hearth and banished the chill. He started music where there had been stillness, and He filled the emptiness with His own loving, wonderful fellowship. I have never regretted opening the door to Christ and I never will — not into eternity!

   This, of course, is the first step in making the heart Christ's home. He has said, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Rev 3:20). If you are interested in making your life an abode of the living God, let me encourage you to invite Christ into your heart. He will surely come.

   In the joy of the new-found relationship, I said to Him, "Lord, I want this heart of mine to be Yours. I want to have You settle down here and be perfectly at home. Everything I have belongs to You. Let me show You around and introduce You to the various features of the home that You may be more comfortable and that we may have fuller fellowship together." He was very gracious and seemed glad to come.

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   The first room was the study — the library. In my home this room of the mind is a very small room with very thick walls, but it is a very 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 upon the table, the pictures on the wall. As I followed His gaze I became uncomfortable. Strangely enough, I had not felt self-conscious about this before, but now that He was there looking at these things I was embarrassed. Some books were there that His eyes were too pure to behold. There was a lot of trash and literature on the table that a Christian had no business to read, and as for the pictures on the wall — the imaginations and thoughts of the mind — some of these were shameful. I turned to Him and said, "Master, I know that this room needs radical alterations. Will You help me make it what it ought to be and bring every thought into captivity to Thee?" "Surely!" He said. "Gladly I will help you. That is one reason I am here. First of all, take all the things that you are reading and looking at which are not helpful, pure, good, and true and throw them out. Now put on the empty shelves the Books of the Bible. Fill the library with Scripture and 'meditate therein day and night' (Joshua 1:18). As for the pictures on the wall, you will have difficulty controlling these images, but here is an aid." 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 attention is centered upon Christ Himself, His purity and power cause impure imaginations to retreat. So He has helped me to bring my thoughts into captivity. May I suggest to you if you have difficulty with this little room of the mind, that you bring Christ in there. Fill

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your thoughts with the truths of the Bible and recognize the presence of the Master.

   From the study we went into the dining room, the room of appetites and desires. This was a very large room in my house. I spent a good deal of time here and much effort in satisfying my wants. I said to Him, "This is a very commodious room, and I am quite sure You will be pleased with what we serve." He seated Himself at the table with me and asked, "What is on the menu for dinner?" "Well," I said, "my favorite dishes, old bones, corn husks, sour garbage, leeks, onions, and garlic right out of Egypt." These were the things I liked — worldly fare. I suppose there was nothing wrong in any particular item, but it was not the food that should satisfy a real Christian. When the food was placed before Him, He said nothing, but I observed that He did not eat it. I said to Him, somewhat disturbed, "Master, You don't care for this food? What is the trouble?" He answered, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of.... My meat is to do the will of him that sent me..." (John 4:32, 34). He looked at me again. "If you want food that really satisfies, seek the will of the Father, not your own pleasures, not your own desires, not your own satisfaction, but seek to please Me. That food will satisfy you." There about the table, He gave me a taste of the joy of doing God's will. What flavor! What nourishment and vitality it gives to the soul! There is no food like it in all the world. It alone satisfies. Everything else is dissatisfying in the end.

   If Christ is in your heart, what kind of food are you serving Him? What kind of food are you eating yourself? Are you living selfishly? Or are you choosing God's will for your meat and your drink?

   From the dining-room we walked into the drawing-room

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This room was intimate and comfortable. I liked it. It had a fireplace, upholstered chairs, a sofa, and a quiet atmosphere. He seemed pleased with it. He said, "This is indeed a delightful room. Let us come here often. It is secluded and quiet, and we can fellowship together." Well, naturally, as a young Christian I was thrilled. I could not think of anything I would rather do than have a few minutes apart with Christ in intimate fellowship. He promised "I will be here early every morning. Meet Me here, and we will start the day together." So, morning after morning, I would come downstairs to the drawing-room — or withdrawing-room as I liked to think of it. He would take a Book of the Bible from the bookcase. We would open it and read together. He would tell me of its richness and unfold to me its truths. My heart warmed as He revealed the love and the grace He had toward me. These were wonderful hours.

   Little by little, under the pressure of many responsibilities, this time began to be shortened. Why, I don't know, but I thought I was too busy to spend time with Christ. This was not intentional, you understand. It just happened that way. Finally, not only was the time shortened, but I began to miss a day now and then. Perhaps it was examination time at the University. Perhaps it was some other urgent emergency. I would miss it two days in a row and oftentimes more. I remember one morning when I was rushing downstairs, eager to be on my way, that I passed the drawing room and noticed that the door was ajar. Looking in, I saw a fire in the fireplace and the Master was sitting there. Suddenly in dismay I thought to myself, "He is my Guest. I invited Him into my heart! He has come and yet I am neglecting Him." With downcast glance, I said, "Blessed Master, forgive me. Have You been here all

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these mornings?" "Yes," He said, "I told you I would be here every morning to meet with you." Then I was even more ashamed. He had been faithful in spite of my faithlessness. I asked His forgiveness, and He readily forgave me as He does when we are truly penitent.

   Then He told me, "The trouble is that you have been thinking of the quiet time, of Bible study and prayer as factors for your own spiritual progress. You have forgotten that this hour means something to Me also. Remember, I love you. I have redeemed you at great cost. I desire your fellowship. Even if you cannot keep the quiet time for your own sake, do it for Mine." The truth that Christ desires my companionship, that He wants me to be with Him and waits for me, has done more to transform my quiet time with God than any other single factor. Don't let Christ wait alone in the drawing room of your heart, but every day find time, when, with your Bible and in prayer, you may have fellowship with Him.

   Before long, He asked, "Do you have a workshop in your home?" Down in the basement 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 go down and fuss around with a few little gadgets, but I wasn't producing anything substantial. I led Him down there. He looked over the workbench and what little talents and skills I had. He said, "Well, this is quite well furnished. What are you producing with your life for the Kingdom of God?" He looked at one or two little toys that I had thrown together on the bench. He held one up to me and said, "Are these little toys all that you are producing in your Christian life?" "Well," I said, "Lord, that is the best I can do. I know it isn't much, and I really want to do more, but, after all, I don't seem to have strength or skill to do more."

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"Would you like to do better?" He asked. "Certainly," I replied. "All right. Let me have your hands. Now relax in Me and let My Spirit work through you. I know that you are clumsy and awkward, but the Holy Spirit is the Master Workman, and if He controls your hands and your heart, He will work through you." Stepping around behind me and putting His great, strong hands under mine, holding the tools in his skilled fingers, He began to work through me. The more I relaxed and trusted Him, the more He was able to do with my life.

   There is much more that I must learn, and I am far from satisfied with the products that are being turned out, but I do know that whatever has been produced for God has been through His strength and the working of His Spirit.

   Do not become discouraged because you cannot do much for God. Ability is not the fundamental question; it is our availability. Upon whom are we relying? Let us give our talents to God. He will do things with them that will surprise us.

   He asked me if I had a playroom. I was hoping He would not ask me about this. There were certain associations and friendships, activities, and amusements that I wanted to keep for myself. I did not think Christ would enjoy them or approve of them, so I evaded the question. One evening when I was leaving to join some college companions, He stopped me with a glance. "Are you going out this evening?" I replied, "Yes." "Good," He said, "I would like to go with you." "Oh," I answered rather awkwardly. "I don't think, Lord Jesus, that You would really want to go with me. Let's go out tomorrow night. Tomorrow night we will go to prayer meeting, but tonight I have another appointment." "I'm sorry," He said, "I thought that when I came into your home, we were going to

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do everything together, to be partners. I want you to know that I am willing to go with you." "Well," I mumbled, slipping out the door, "we will go some place tomorrow night." That evening I spent some miserable hours. I felt wretched. What kind of a friend was I to Christ when I was deliberately leaving Him out of my associations, 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 said, "Lord, I have learned my lesson. I cannot have a good time without You. We will do everything together." Then we went down into the rumpus room of the house and He transformed it. He brought new friends into my life, new satisfactions, new and lasting joys. Laughter and music have been ringing through the house ever since.

   There is just one more matter that I might share with you. One day I found Him waiting for me at the door. There was an arresting look in His eye, and He said to me as I entered, "There is a peculiar odor in the house. Something is dead around here. It's upstairs. I'm sure it is in the hall-closet." As soon as He said the words, I knew what He was talking about. Yes, there was a small hall-closet up there on the landing, just a few feet square. In that closet, behind lock and key, I had one or two little personal things that I did not want Christ to see. I knew they were dead and rotting things, and I wanted them so for myself that I was afraid to admit they were there. I went up with Him, as we mounted the stairs, the odor became stronger and stronger. He pointed to the door and said, "It's in there! — some dead thing!" I was angry. That's the only way I can put it. I had given Him access to the library, the dining-room, the drawing-room, the workshop, the rumpus room, and now He was asking me about a little two-by-

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four closet. I said inwardly, "This is too much. I am not going to give Him the key." "Well," He said, reading my thoughts, "If you think I'm going to stay up here on the second floor with this odor, you are mistaken. I will go out on the porch. I'm certainly not going to put up with that." I saw Him start down the stairs. My resistance collapsed. When one comes to know and love Christ, the worst thing that can happen is to sense His companionship retreating. I had to surrender. "I'll give You the key," I said sadly, "but You will have to open up the closet and clean it out. I haven't the strength to do it." "I know," He said "I know. Just give me the key. Just authorize Me to take care of 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 all the putrifying stuff that was rotting there, and threw it away. Then He cleaned the closet, painted it, and fixed it up. It was done in a moment's time. Oh, what victory and release to have that dead thing out of my life!

   Then a thought came to me. I said to myself. "I have been trying to keep this heart of mine clean for Christ. I start on one room, and no sooner have I cleaned it than another room is dirty. I begin in the second room, and the first room becomes dusty again. I am tired and weary seeking to have a clean heart and an obedient life. I am just not up to it!" So I ventured this question. "Lord, is there any chance that You would take over the management of the whole house and operate it for me as You did that closet? Would You take the responsibility to keep my life what it ought to be?" His face lighted up as He replied, "Certainly, that is what I want to do. You cannot be a victorious Christian in your own strength. That is impossible. Let Me do it through you and for you. That is the

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way. But," He added slowly, "I am not owner of this house. I am just a guest. I have no authority to proceed since the property is not mine." I saw it in a minute and, dropping to my knees, I said, "Lord, You have been a guest and I have been the host. From now on I am going to be the servant. You are going to be the Lord." Running as fast as I could to the strong box, I took out the title deed to the house describing its properties, assets, and liabilities. Then, returning to Him, I eagerly signed it over to Him alone for time and eternity. "Here," I said, "Here it is, all that I am and have forever. Now You run the house. I'll just remain with You as a servant and friend."

   He has been faithful to me as Lord of my life. Things are different since Jesus Christ has settled down and made His home in my heart.

Oh, the bitter pain and sorrow

That a time could ever be

When I proudly said to Jesus —

"All of self, and none of thee."

Yet He found me; I beheld Him

Bleeding on th' accursed tree;

And my wistful heart said faintly,

"Some of self and some of Thee."

Day by day His tender mercy

Healing, helping, full and free,

Brought me lower, while I whispered —

"Less of self, and more of Thee!"

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Higher than the highest heaven,

Deeper than the deepest sea,

Lord, Thy love at last has conquered;

"None of self and ALL of Thee!"

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