We Are Not AloneSample

In the home

Not surprisingly, our homes are often the places we sense God’s Spirit more than in others. That’s probably because we spend more time at home than elsewhere, but there is something about ‘home’ that enhances the possibility of ‘God being with us’. It’s where we down tools and relax after a day’s work. It’s our personal space where we shut the door on the frantic pace of the world.

I often think of home as a haven, as free from intrusion from the outside as I can make it – including how often I choose to engage with my phone and how I set up my home to spend time with God. As the Taylor Swift song goes, ‘This is our place, we make the rules.’ Connecting with God at home can be a very real, sacred and regular experience because we can engage often and without interruption.

Of course, home can also be the place we experience more challenges than other places, especially resisting the human tendency to take those we love for granted. That can cause all kinds of dilemmas that require us to rewind, reengage and experience healing in our primary relationships. But that too can be part of our spiritual journey.

Jesus knew the value of ‘home’ as a key space for the nurture of our souls. In his encounter with Zacchaeus, a distrusted tax collector, Jesus insisted that he spend time with Zacchaeus at his house, away from the crowd that was following him. When Zacchaeus emerged, he was a different man (Luke 19:1-10).

It was in the home of Simon the Tanner that Peter had his prophetic vision of the gospel being for all people, not only for Jews. Subsequently, it was in the home of the Roman centurion Cornelius, filled with Gentiles (non-Jews), that Peter humbly and without hesitation shared the good news of Jesus. ‘While Peter was still speaking these words,’ Acts 10:44 confirms, ‘the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.’

Miracles happen at home!

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me not to limit your guidance and your power in my life through my learned assumptions. Holy Spirit, please break through in my life to see all things through your eyes and for the greater good of your purposes. Amen.