Housekeeping According to the Gospel

Today I welcome a brother in Christ, Rick Thomas, as a guest to our blog. Rick published this piece last week at Competent Counseling, and I thought it would be so valuable on our blog as well. So with his permission, here it is!

In the beginning God spoke. When He did, the world began to take shape. The Creator brought form and order out of chaos and disorder. This is what God does. He steps into dysfunction and transforms it into function.

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said… – Genesis 1:2-3 (ESV)

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. – Genesis 1:31 (ESV)

Perhaps you have been affected similarly. Perhaps God spoke His Word into your soul and your chaos began to be reshaped by the hand of the Almighty. God takes us just as we are, but He does not leave us just as we are. It does not matter where we come from, what we have done, or how disoriented our lives may have been. When the Creator speaks, we change. The Holy Spirit takes the seed of His Word and plants it in our hearts and we are wonderfully reborn from above.

You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. – 1 Peter 1:23 (ESV)

One of the privileges of being born again is that we can now do what we could never do before: we can imitate God. Prior to God speaking into our chaos and transforming us by His mighty power, we were His disoriented aliens and enemies. Now we are His friends (John 15:15) and we have the joy-filled privilege ofputting Him on display everywhere we go.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. – Ephesians 5:1 (ESV)

A Haven of Rest

One of the many ways we can model the power of the Gospel in our lives is by how we present our home to others. Think about this for a moment. Many of the people we have into our home come from frenetic, busy, and noisy places. Some (not all) of these people live in a steady state of chaos. Maybe their own homes are chaotic. Maybe the husband and wife are at each other’s throats. Maybe they are struggling with rebellious children or some other relational breakdown.

Others are loving and serving God, but their lives are incredibly fast-paced. Whether they are serving God or whether their lives are breaking down in ways that they can’t seem to get a handle on, there is one common denominator: there is little rest for the weary.

Therefore, when we have people into our home, we want them to feel and experience something different than what they just came from. We want them to be able to relax. We want to provide for them a brief moment in their lives where they can separate themselves from the noise of their lives.

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while. For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. – Mark 6:30-31 (ESV)

Perhaps you have been in a chaotic home that is mostly in disarray. If so, you have probably felt a tension or an inability to relax. The clutter and the noise kept you on edge and after you left you felt as though you needed a break. In such a home the “lord” of the home needs to not only speak up, but he needs to step up and lead by example. He needs to bring his home in line with the Gospel. Chaos does not represent Christ.

A Few Tips to Think About

• It’s a family affair - I am not making a case for the husband to berate his wife about her lack of taking care of the home. If anything, I am making a case for the husband to lead in his home. His home, good or bad, is a reflection of his leadership, good or bad.
• The anal retentive – There are some people who are so anal about their homes, that though their homes may be spotless, everyone in the home is tense, fearful, and generally worn out. You will know if a clean home is an idol by how you respond when it is not clean.
• It ain’t about you - I’ve seen some wives who go into near panic attack when they think of someone coming over and their house is not clean. This is not the Gospel either. Quite simply, it is sin. If you are overly concerned with how your home reflects on you, then you are self-centered rather than other-centered.
• It’s not about money – It does not matter about the quality of the furniture. It’s about the Gospel. God saves people from every imaginable background. The poor and the rich can become a Christian. It’s not about what you have, but who you are and how you represent your Master.
• The process and the result should be the same – If the process to clean the house is chaotic and angry, then the Gospel has been missed. Yes, it is a privilege to enjoy a well-ordered home. It is also a privilege and joy to make a home well-ordered.
• It’s about the Master of the house – Though your home is a reflection of you, you are a reflection of your Master. Your home is an extension of your beliefs. The Gospel is comprehensive. It should be affecting every area of your life and how you think about and respond to all of these areas.
• Don’t be overwhelmed - The transformative work of the Gospel is a work-in-progress. Progressive sanctification is just that: it is progressive. As the old hymn goes, “He’s still work’in on me.” Don’t sweat it. Be thankful you can even think these thoughts. Most people in our world do not give the Gospel one iota of thought as to how it can reshape their lives.

A Note About Children

Children have an invaluable role to play in the daily upkeep of a home.

• Their training to model the Gospel should begin by the time they are walking upright. Yes, they, too, are a work-in-progress. Therefore you want to start young. The primary way they can model the Gospel is the same way you can model the Gospel: serving others. Children need to learn from you what serving looks like and they should be learning this at a very young age.
• Children should be pitching in and helping very early. If they don’t learn it from you, then it will be a challenge for them to learn it after they are married. If a child rightly understands the Gospel then he/she will see it as a privilege and opportunity to come alongside mom in the general upkeep of the home.
• When guests are over, a Gospel-centered child will know that the next couple of hours are not about him/her. It’s about the guests. The Gospel is distinctly others-centered. Therefore, the child should be equipped and envisioned on how to make it not about him/her. This would mean they would not inappropriately interrupt or be so noisy that the attention is drawn away from what God may be doing (or desires to do) in the lives of the guests.

Our family goal is for people to come to our home to relax. If our home replicates the effects of the Gospel, then no matter what kind of “chaos” comes through our door, the Gospel begins to have an immediate affect on them. Our hope is that by the time they leave, they feel like they have pulled away from life for a brief moment and were refreshed in God. Part of that “refreshing” is the environment of our home.

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