Robert Boyd Munger wrote a tract that deeply impacted me as a teenager. My Heart – Christ’s Home has stuck with me for decades. The picture he paints is of Christ coming into our home as a guest. Jesus begins to make Himself at home as per our invitation. We soon begin to realize the changes that need to take place in our lives as Jesus goes through each room in our home/heart…
The library represents our thoughts and intentions. As “Christian” indicates, “There was a lot of trash and literature on the table that a Christian had no business reading, and as for the pictures on the wall – the imaginations and thoughts of the mind – some of these were shameful.”
Jesus encourages him to clean out this room. Throw out all that which is not Truth. Fill the shelves with scripture and meditate on Truth day and night. Take the worldly images off the walls and replace it with a portrait of Jesus – focus your attention on Christ.
The Dining Room is the place of appetites and desires. Christian has spent much time here satisfying his wants. Sadly though, that which He has been feeding upon are the things of the world. When he offers this food to Jesus he realizes that Jesus is unwilling to consume it with Him.
Jesus tells him, “I have meat to eat that you know not of…If you want food that really satisfies, seek the will of the Father, not your own pleasures, not your own desires, not your own satisfactions, but seek to please me. That food will satisfy you.”
The living room is where Jesus suggests that he and Christian meet. Jesus promised, “I will be here early every morning. Meet me here, and we will start the day together.”
Morning after morning Christian would meet with Jesus in the living room where Jesus would unfold the Truth of His Word in a transformational way. These were rich times together. Sadly though, little by little the times began to be shortened under the pressures of life, until Christian began to miss days.
As he was rushing off to work one day he realized that Jesus had been faithfully waiting to meet with him every day, even though he had not shown up.
“Don’t let Christ wait alone in the living room of your heart, but every day find time, when, with your Bible and in prayer, you may have fellowship with Him.”
Jesus asks to see his workshop. “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?”
Christian realized there was more Jesus had for him to produce. He surrendered to the master’s leadership. “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.”
The rec room is where Christian had certain associations and friendships, activities, and amusements that he wanted to keep for himself. Jesus wanted to do everything with Christian. Christian realized that he was deliberately leaving Jesus out of certain associations, doing things and going places that he knew Jesus would not enjoy.
He realized he was miserable without Jesus. Jesus then brought new friends into his life, new satisfactions, and new and lasting joys.
In the hall closet Christian kept a few things he didn’t want Jesus to know about. He kept it locked. However, Jesus could smell the stench from the closet and wanted to clean it out. Slowly and reluctantly Christian surrendered the key to his closet when he realized keeping it from Christ would impact their relationship.
“When one comes to know and love Christ, the worst thing that can happen is to sense His companionship withdrawing. I had to surrender. I’ll give You the key.”
Christ wonderfully cleaned out his closet and painted it – the dead things were gone.
“A thought came to me. ‘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?’”
Jesus replied, “Certainly, that is what I want to do. You cannot be a victorious Christian in your own strength. Let me do it through you and for you.”
Christian dropped to his knees and gave Jesus legal title to his heart – his home. No more would Jesus be his guest. “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.”
May we all truly make our heart Christ’s home.
“Hey Dave, can I talk to you for a minute?”, he inquired.
I was wrecked. I was broken. I was feeling incredibly overwhelmed by what was going on. This would be a defining season in my life.
“I want to start writing”, she offered with a mix of insecurity, fear and courageous resolve.