31 Days to Bless Your Home, and How to Have Fun Doing It Too!
Week 3: The Glamorous Side of Homemaking: Cleaning, Organizing, and Decluttering
Day 19: A Surprise Visit from the Master
When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by namne. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” Luke 19:5 NLT
Today’s text: Luke19:1-10.
He was not a popular man by any means. He was probably quite lonely, except for the fly by night friends that sought to benefit from financial favors. He had heard that Jesus was coming by. He was secretly intrigued. Oh, just to get a glimpse of this man who had power and influence, such as he had invested his entire life to achieve. What was so special about this Jesus, anyway?
Because he was small in stature, he struggled through the crowd just to sneak a peek, but it was futile. There was no way he would ever be able to stretch his neck enough to peer over the shoulders of those who had traveled near and far to see this man who claimed to be the Messiah. He would never be able to fight his way through this mob, and certainly there was no one willing to step aside to let him through. He had not made any friends in this crowd!
His only hope was to climb a nearby sycamore tree and secretly watch the Master as He passed by. Surely no one would be the wiser!
As Jesus approached, I can imagine the butterflies swirling in the pit of Zachaeus’ stomach. His face felt flush, and he instantly became overwhelmed with shame as he inwardly assessed the kind of man he had become. He knows he achieved wealth and success solely from cheating his fellow Jews out of their hard earned and much needed wages. No wonder he was one of the most hated men in the town.
Suddenly, he had caught eye contact with the Lord Himself. He looked into the eyes that were like swords piercing into his very soul, yet they were full of love and kindness, an acceptance he had never experienced before. A warm, healing emotion washed through him, and the dam burst. His tears felt hot streaming down his cheeks, and the lump in his throat nearly gagged him as he attempted to answer the Master’s call.
Yes, Jesus had called up to Zachaeus in that tree. He knew him by name, and actually wanted to go to his house. Imagine that! The very Jesus who had change countless lives, healed diseases, taught in the synagogues, and had a colossal following wanted to have dinner at his house today. How would he prepare? What would he do first? There wasn’t any time for that; Jesus wanted to go with him NOW!
As he escorted Jesus to his home, people jeered at him and grumbled that Jesus had chosen to dine with a notorious sinner. What kind of man was this Jesus, consorting with thieves and drunkards? However, on the way home, Zachaeus began to sense a deep heart change. He knew he would never be the same! No longer did he have the desire to lie, cheat, or steal for his own gain. He suddenly felt compassion on his fellow man, and he wanted to do everything he could to make things right. He felt clean for the first time in his life! Already, the love of Jesus had changed him, and he was never going to be the same again!
Can you put yourself in his shoes to a point? You may have never cheated or stolen, but as it pertains to our families or homes, we may relate to the feeling of not being worthy to have the Master come to our house. If Jesus were to surprise us with a visit with not more than a moment’s notice, we would probably be thrown into a tizzy! Even if we had weeks to prepare, would we ever feel ready? Could we ever feel satisfied that our homes were perfect enough to host Immanuel Himself?
We can imagine such a scenario because we don’t really believe that would happen. We don’t expect Jesus to physically come to our front door and join us for dinner. It seems cliché to just say that Jesus is our unseen guest at every meal already, but should we take His perpetual presence for granted? Do we understand that He is present within our homes and surrounding our families at every instant? Do our homes reflect an atmosphere that honors and welcomes our Lord at all time?
Most likely, most of us would say that we haven’t quite reached that ideal. Perfection? I am far from that by a long shot! Maybe you are one who has become disillusioned by family life and are discouraged about trying to make a home. Perhaps there are areas you feel like a failure. We all have our broken and messed up areas that we would prefer to keep hidden from Jesus, but there is hope! As He invites Himself into our homes, we have no time to get everything in shape first. Just like Zachaeus, Jesus wants to come into our homes and our lives exactly as they are. He doesn’t want us to get it all right first, but He wants to come and share life with us, to live through us, even now.
I believe He would want us to throw out our perfectionist chains and allow Him to give us a free and abundant life. He will do the perfecting work in us; it is not our job. All we need to do is yield to Him and allow Him to heal, restore, and bless our homes and families. Just as He miraculously did for Zachaeus, He can do it for us too. He can mend your brokenness, restore relationships, and rebuild your marriage and family.
Allow Jesus to come and do His thing. Give it all to Him today. If you don’t know Jesus personally, I invite you to read my post, HowCan I Be Saved?
Week Three Challenge: It is time to roll up our sleeves and give our homes some extra TLC this week. What have you been putting off? This is the week to tackle it!
Today’s Challenge: Make a new commitment, or renew your commitment to allow Jesus to be the Lord of your home and your family.
Join me tomorrow as we begin a new week, “The Fun of Home.” We will learn to put aside our stress for a while and learn to truly enjoy our husbands and children. I will include lots of ideas for just plain having fun! Blessing our home is about so much more than the physical structure of the home, but it is about the people who live there, It’s all about relationships this week!
Please follow me at PearlsforLiving.net, and add your email to the right so that you will receive regular email updates. You will not want to miss one day of the fun!
Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter too, for “daily wisdom from the Bible and life experiences to help us all build God-honoring lives, homes, and families.”
And, if you really want to help spread the word and bless your friends, be sure to “Like” and “Share!”
Thank you and God bless!
Shari Lewis
