HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR HEART GOD’S HOME (4)

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Ephesians 3:14-17a (NIV)

Emphasize the Eternal “in your inner being”
“in your hearts”

This principle is so important that Paul uses two different phrases to describe the idea of developing our inner lives. Both the inner being (literally the “inner man”) and our hearts describe the very center of our being. That includes our personality, thoughts, will and emotions. And it is that part of our lives we need to develop in order for Jesus to come and be at home there.

Amy and I have made a lot of cosmetic changes to our house; what is even more important to the long-term ability for our house to serve as our home are some of the things that are not nearly as visible. If I paint a wall, but the drywall hasn’t been hung properly or the builder used inferior lumber when framing, or even worse, if the foundation is not adequate, that paint job is not going to last. Or I can change out the switch plates and outlet covers all I want, but if there is a problem with the wiring inside the walls, my lights and outlets still won’t work properly.

The same thing is true with our lives. We can spend all the time we want on the outside, but if we don’t take care of the inner man, our hearts, then all the work we do won’t last. So how do we make sure that we develop that inner man? Paul gives us some hints about how we do that in another of his letters:

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)
Paul makes it quite clear that the way that we are renewed inwardly day by day is to fix our eyes on those unseen things that are eternal rather that the temporary things that we can see. In other words, I need to focus on developing on those things that will last for eternity – my character, my convictions, my thought life, my devotion – rather than those things that will pass away – my body and my material possessions.
I’m not saying, and I don’t think Paul is either, that we are not to take care of our bodies or be good stewards of the material goods God has entrusted us with. In fact, the Bible clearly teaches that we should do both of those things. But he is saying that our main focus should be on developing those parts of our lives that will last for eternity.

Trust in God’s Truth
“through faith”
When Paul writes that Christ dwells in our hearts through faith, the faith that he is describing is much more than just some intellectual belief. In fact, it is even broader than what we normally think of as faith – trusting in Jesus Christ alone as the means of being made right with God. That’s certainly part of faith, but it’s really only a starting point. If we want Jesus to be at home in our hearts, we need to have a much more encompassing kind of faith. James is really helpful in describing that kind of faith:

“But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder.” James 2:18, 19 (NIV)
There are some people who will try to claim that James’ writings contradict Paul’s claim that salvation is by faith alone and not a result of our works. But if you read Paul’s letters carefully, you will find that both of them are actually very much on the same page. James is pointing out that real faith will be demonstrated by our actions. As he points out, even the demons have an intellectual belief about God and His Son. And I think we’d all agree that kind of faith is totally inadequate as a basis for our salvation or for making our heart a dwelling for Jesus.

If we want Jesus to come and make Himself at home in our hearts, then we need to have the kind of faith that trusts that as we obey the teachings of Jesus and the leadings of the Holy Spirit, God will accomplish what is the very best for us, even when we can’t see how that can be. Here’s how Jesus put it:

Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” John 14:23 (NIV)
If we want Jesus to come and make His home with us, then we need to trust him enough to obey His teachings. That means when someone wrongs me, instead of trying to get revenge, I forgive and pray for the other person. It means that when I have the desire to engage in a physical relationship outside of marriage, I refrain from giving into those desires, because I trust that is in my best interest based on the words of Jesus. It means that I don’t worry about my material needs because God has promised to provide them for me.
You are loved...