Day 272: The Making Of Our House Into God's Home
Read: Ruth 4
I think that maybe I have been trying to be too serious lately. I believe it is time to try and lighten things up a bit. Try and have some fun with the seriousness of the Gospel message. So, let us try and sit back a bit and take a trip back down memory lane, to a time of our childhood. To a time when it was hopefully and
prayerfully fun to be a kid. Life was good, we did not know any better,
we seemed to laugh at the most silly of things. We did not recognize the seriousness of the events going on around us. We were in the business of being a kid and being a kid means having fun at every chance we got. My personal all time favorite was watching cartoons on TV Saturday morning.
My personal all time favorite cartoon - The Three Little Pigs against the big bad wolf. It always made me laugh or cry the hardest. Three pigs (I thought them
as brothers as I did not have any) built three different houses. Then
that 'bad old wolf' coming in and trying to ruin it all. I always cried
the hardest, yelled 'Mom' when those first two pigs lost their home. But
then I laughed myself silly, clapped my hands together until they hurt
when the wolf could do nothing with the third house made of brick.
Happy, oh so happy that all three pigs came together under one roof and lived happily ever after. Oh, I remember that I was beaming from ear to ear about realizing that one.
But then like all kids must do, we must grow up and learn different lessons about our homes. We will learn responsibility through our chores, finance through paper routes, and lemonade stands, the importance of our successes and failures through athletics, the playing of musical instruments or other cultural pursuits. We learn
what we like and invariably what we do not like. If our parents are
into church, religious stuff, we might learn something special, meaningful about God. How important it was to have a loving home, a
spiritual house, whatever that was supposed to mean. Me, not so much, I
was Jewish, went to synagogue for a while learned about being
unaccepted.
What does or should a house represent? Security, comfort, provision, acceptance? I do not often read the Book of Ruth which lately I realize has represented a great loss for the powerful, profound lessons it gives the reader about the making of a home. A home that represents a place of acceptance, love and great personal sacrifice. It is a very inspiring story of God's welcoming and beginning, redemption and reconciliation for the sinner looking to find a safe and secure home for themselves in God's house. It has become very thought provoking for me and I am now finding my
heart being strangely warmed by the hearth inside. Ruth and Boaz, God
and me, God and you too.
Let Us Pray: An Irish House Blessing:
God Bless the Corners of this House
and be the Lintel Blessed
And Bless the Hearth
And Bless the Board
And Bless Each Place of Rest
Bless Each Door That Opens Wide To Strangers and to Kin
And Bless Each Crystal Windowpane
that lets the Sunshine In
And Bless the Rooftree Overhead
And Every Sturdy Wall
The Peace of Man
The Peace of God
The Peace of Love to All Amen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ULJhI7ojBM
Bill & Gloria Gaither - Going Home [Live] ft. Bill Gaither
www.youtube.com
Music video by Bill & Gloria Gaither performing Going Home (feat. Bill Gaither) [Live]. (P) (C) 2012 Spring
I think that maybe I have been trying to be too serious lately. I believe it is time to try and lighten things up a bit. Try and have some fun with the seriousness of the Gospel message. So, let us try and sit back a bit and take a trip back down memory lane, to a time of our childhood. To a time when it was hopefully and prayerfully fun to be a kid. Life was good, we did not know any better, we seemed to laugh at the most silly of things. We did not recognize the seriousness of the events going on around us. We were in the business of being a kid and being a kid means having fun at every chance we got. My personal all time favorite was watching cartoons on TV Saturday morning.
My personal all time favorite cartoon - The Three Little Pigs against the big bad wolf. It always made me laugh or cry the hardest. Three pigs (I thought them as brothers as I did not have any) built three different houses. Then that 'bad old wolf' coming in and trying to ruin it all. I always cried the hardest, yelled 'Mom' when those first two pigs lost their home. But then I laughed myself silly, clapped my hands together until they hurt when the wolf could do nothing with the third house made of brick. Happy, oh so happy that all three pigs came together under one roof and lived happily ever after. Oh, I remember that I was beaming from ear to ear about realizing that one.
But then like all kids must do, we must grow up and learn different lessons about our homes. We will learn responsibility through our chores, finance through paper routes, and lemonade stands, the importance of our successes and failures through athletics, the playing of musical instruments or other cultural pursuits. We learn what we like and invariably what we do not like. If our parents are into church, religious stuff, we might learn something special, meaningful about God. How important it was to have a loving home, a spiritual house, whatever that was supposed to mean. Me, not so much, I was Jewish, went to synagogue for a while learned about being unaccepted.
What does or should a house represent? Security, comfort, provision, acceptance? I do not often read the Book of Ruth which lately I realize has represented a great loss for the powerful, profound lessons it gives the reader about the making of a home. A home that represents a place of acceptance, love and great personal sacrifice. It is a very inspiring story of God's welcoming and beginning, redemption and reconciliation for the sinner looking to find a safe and secure home for themselves in God's house. It has become very thought provoking for me and I am now finding my heart being strangely warmed by the hearth inside. Ruth and Boaz, God and me, God and you too.
Let Us Pray: An Irish House Blessing:
God Bless the Corners of this House
and be the Lintel Blessed
And Bless the Hearth
And Bless the Board
And Bless Each Place of Rest
Bless Each Door That Opens Wide To Strangers and to Kin
And Bless Each Crystal Windowpane
that lets the Sunshine In
And Bless the Rooftree Overhead
And Every Sturdy Wall
The Peace of Man
The Peace of God
The Peace of Love to All Amen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ULJhI7ojBM
Bill & Gloria Gaither - Going Home [Live] ft. Bill Gaither
www.youtube.com
Music video by Bill & Gloria Gaither performing Going Home (feat. Bill Gaither) [Live]. (P) (C) 2012 Spring
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