The Run of the House

Growing up as a young boy, I used to enjoy going over to my Aunt Geneva's house on the other side of Macon. It was so different.

We lived in the country on 40 acres of land in a mobile home. Our nearest neighbor was a quarter of a mile away. The nearest grocery store was 5 miles, school was 6.

Aunt Geneva's house was in the city. A store was on the corner, and school was down the street. Railroad tracks ran alongside the street, and one of the busiest streets in the whole town was a block away.

But it was her house that really fascinated me.

It was old, with high ceilings, fireplaces, and wood floors. Every room seemed to lead to another. I don't believe there was a hall in the place. And I explored every inch of it from the attic to my uncle's aborted attempt to build a Cold War bomb shelter in the basement.

Except the living room.

It was off limits to kids. All kids. Even extra specially good kids like me. Oh I would look over into it and notice the gleaming wood floors, the perfect furniture and antiques. But to go into it? Never happen. I thought of that today when I read this verse.

1 John 4:16-17(Msg)
God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ's.

When we give Christ our lives and pledge to follow Him, what we are doing is throwing open all the doors in our life and saying to Jesus, "come on in. My house is your house."

And since God is love, His nature begins to affect what we do, until we do what he would do in an increasing attempt to be like Him. We don't hold Him away from any area of our lives.

And love has the run of the house.

Grace!

David

This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.