There’s no place like…
When I come home from a busy day, I look forward to warming myself by the fire, inhaling the aromas coming from the kitchen, and letting the kids tackle me with all their ideas and pent-up energy. I have certain expectations about my house. I want it clean, I expect to relax there, and I see it as a place where I can be myself. God also has expectations for His house.
You are His house. He expects to find a welcoming atmosphere. God said He will dwell in us (Jeremiah 31:33). If you have received His Spirit, then He dwells in you. If the name of Jesus is over your life, you are His dwelling place (II Corinthians 6:16).
Jesus’ expectations
The man Jesus was the house of God—the Temple of God in the flesh. He provided a way for you to become a part of His house so that the Spirit can dwell in you, too. As the “house of God,” Jesus worked miracles, preached the gospel, and changed lives everywhere He went. It’s just want you would expect from Him.
In a living church (not a dry, dead one), we have come to expect the Lord to move. We expect His presence to fill the house. We expect lives to be changed. Some even call church “the house of God.” However, where you and I meet for church is just buildings. God’s house is in the people who have made Him welcome—the church is the house of God, but the church building is not.
Personal expectations
I would expect great things to happen through Jesus—the House of God. I expect great things to happen at church—what some call the house of God. I should have just as much expectation about what God is going to do through me—the house of God. He dwells in me, so He is always ready to work a miracle, encourage a soul, or change a life. I must learn to expect that as well.
This involves a transformation of thinking from experienced-based life to faith-based living. For example, if you grew up with a goat in your living room, you might think that was normal. Once you realize that such a creature is neither normal nor sanitary in a home, you would have to change how you think and how you act. It might take a while to get rid of your goat mentality. By being in other homes and learning what a house is really for, you will develop a new level of expectations.
What environmental influences do you need to overcome? Have you bought the lie that your body is for your own pleasure and self-indulgence? Perhaps your expectations for yourself drive you to just be a money-making machine. Or an angry person. Or a lazy worker. Read God’s word. Discover the blueprint for your life.
You are His house. What does He expect in His dwelling place? Then live, really live.