Excuses I've Used #2: I'm Sorry But I'll Feel Too Judged...
"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No-one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had"
This is a picture of the house that, as a child, I imagined myself living in as a grown up.
I am now a grown up. I live on a council estate.
Suffice to say that French Chateau dream died a while ago for me. However, the phrase 'An Englishman's home is his castle' still rings true, and no more so when it comes to hospitality. Our homes are our place of safety and the thought of twin toddlers running through it with a paintbrush in one hand and an ice lolly in the other, may just be the end of you.
When we read about the early church, they shared a heap of stuff. Food, houses, possessions, fields, prison cells. Nothing was their own. Why was this? Because they were "one in heart and mind". When we look at hospitality, sacrificing our homes for other people has to happen. While this might throw you into a blind panic, once you do it, it's actually quite freeing.
It makes you see that
people aren't coming to see how beautiful your home is.
This reality dawned on me one day when I had a group of (quite posh and much older and wiser) vicar's wives coming round for tea and Bible study. I realised I hadn't hoovered the house for...let's say a week or maybe more. I had no time to run the hoover round before they arrived, and having 3 small children, 2 of which were still at home all day, the floor situation was pretty horrific. Then I had a stroke of genius. I emptied out 3 boxes of kids toys all over the living room floor, my kids dove in like it was a soft play. When the ladies came in, I said, in that off hand way mams do, "So sorry about the mess, kids eh?". And no one noticed the carpet's crumb coating.
I realised then that the state of my house wasn't stopping anyone from coming round. I was.
Whatever your house looks like on the inside, it doesn't need to look like Grand Designs. Because unless you've invited Kevin McCloud round, no one other than you cares. In fact, they'll find it a relief that it's just like their house.
Nowhere in the Bible does it say the believers had show homes. In fact there's very little on what their homes actually looked like. But there is a lot on what happened in them. Encouraging one another (Hebrews 10v25), reading God's word (Acts 2v42), praying (Acts 12v12), eating together (Acts 2v46), sharing stuff they had (Acts 2v45) . But nothing on the state of the laminate flooring in that place where the radiator leaked...now why is that?
When people visit your house, how do you know if they feel at home? Is it when they slip off their shoes at the front door? Is it when they've eaten their fill? When they take a nap on your sofa? When they move in?
I think it's when they share your home with you. We all have those homes we visit where we feel 'at home'. Where they know how you like your tea, where you can put your feet up on the sofa and where they always serve the Ferrero Roche in 6's cos they know you'll eat that many to yourself. We like visiting because we feel at ease, accepted and...well, like we would at home.
Sharing what you have, in particular you home, with others ultimately shows them Jesus. He withheld nothing from us, even to the point of death. He willingly gave all so we could know God forever. There was nothing He wouldn't do for us to be united with Him. We need to follow Him.
Another reason is this; your home isn't yours anyway.
The Bible tells us to share what we have because it's not ours to begin with. God gives us all we have (James 1v17), the ability to earn it through work or just by His grace.
Your home, whatever it looks like, is gift from God.
So, whether you live in a home that has that kind of carpet your feet leave a mark in, or whether you live in one where you have to put a trail of salt round the edge of the room to stop the slugs (mine), it's to be shared.
Acts 4v32
I am now a grown up. I live on a council estate.
Suffice to say that French Chateau dream died a while ago for me. However, the phrase 'An Englishman's home is his castle' still rings true, and no more so when it comes to hospitality. Our homes are our place of safety and the thought of twin toddlers running through it with a paintbrush in one hand and an ice lolly in the other, may just be the end of you.
When we read about the early church, they shared a heap of stuff. Food, houses, possessions, fields, prison cells. Nothing was their own. Why was this? Because they were "one in heart and mind". When we look at hospitality, sacrificing our homes for other people has to happen. While this might throw you into a blind panic, once you do it, it's actually quite freeing.
It makes you see that
people aren't coming to see how beautiful your home is.
They're coming to see you.
They aren't coming to see how clean your home is.
They're coming to see you.
They aren't coming to see how tidy it is.
They're coming to see you.
This reality dawned on me one day when I had a group of (quite posh and much older and wiser) vicar's wives coming round for tea and Bible study. I realised I hadn't hoovered the house for...let's say a week or maybe more. I had no time to run the hoover round before they arrived, and having 3 small children, 2 of which were still at home all day, the floor situation was pretty horrific. Then I had a stroke of genius. I emptied out 3 boxes of kids toys all over the living room floor, my kids dove in like it was a soft play. When the ladies came in, I said, in that off hand way mams do, "So sorry about the mess, kids eh?". And no one noticed the carpet's crumb coating.
I realised then that the state of my house wasn't stopping anyone from coming round. I was.
Whatever your house looks like on the inside, it doesn't need to look like Grand Designs. Because unless you've invited Kevin McCloud round, no one other than you cares. In fact, they'll find it a relief that it's just like their house.
Nowhere in the Bible does it say the believers had show homes. In fact there's very little on what their homes actually looked like. But there is a lot on what happened in them. Encouraging one another (Hebrews 10v25), reading God's word (Acts 2v42), praying (Acts 12v12), eating together (Acts 2v46), sharing stuff they had (Acts 2v45) . But nothing on the state of the laminate flooring in that place where the radiator leaked...now why is that?
When people visit your house, how do you know if they feel at home? Is it when they slip off their shoes at the front door? Is it when they've eaten their fill? When they take a nap on your sofa? When they move in?
I think it's when they share your home with you. We all have those homes we visit where we feel 'at home'. Where they know how you like your tea, where you can put your feet up on the sofa and where they always serve the Ferrero Roche in 6's cos they know you'll eat that many to yourself. We like visiting because we feel at ease, accepted and...well, like we would at home.Sharing what you have, in particular you home, with others ultimately shows them Jesus. He withheld nothing from us, even to the point of death. He willingly gave all so we could know God forever. There was nothing He wouldn't do for us to be united with Him. We need to follow Him.
Another reason is this; your home isn't yours anyway.
The Bible tells us to share what we have because it's not ours to begin with. God gives us all we have (James 1v17), the ability to earn it through work or just by His grace.
Your home, whatever it looks like, is gift from God.
So, whether you live in a home that has that kind of carpet your feet leave a mark in, or whether you live in one where you have to put a trail of salt round the edge of the room to stop the slugs (mine), it's to be shared.
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