My mind works rather strange at times. Just for mental exercise, I some times ask myself questions I know there is probably no way I can answer. The other day I had one of those thoughts. I asked myself, “I wonder when, where, and who actually built the first man made dwelling?” And “when did man have the first Home”?
Archeologist have yet discovered the very first dwelling a human constructed in order to live in. It’s not likely they ever will because it was most likely constructed of animal hides, cloth or sticks and or mud. We know that man made use of caves as places of shelter and we know that the Tent was in use by nomadic peoples for a long time. The first mention of a Tent in the Bible is in Genesis 9:21. We also know that man made dwelling places of sticks and mud at some point so having a sheltered place to dwell in is something mankind has been doing for a very long time.
I know that this seems like a complete waste of mental energy and even if I could answer the question, of what value would it be to me. For me, it is one of those ways that the Holy Spirit sparks my curiosity to seek out something He wants to impress or teach me. This little Holy Spirit triggered mental exercise was designed to get me to dig deeper into the real meaning of what the real difference was between a House and a Home.
Once again the Holy Spirit dug deep into my memory and pulled up something I had heard decades ago and thought I had completely forgot about. There was this cute little girl who was sitting on top of a pile of luggage in a hotel lobby. Her parents were at the desk registering for their room. A sympathetic lady asked the little girl if they were visiting relatives in the city. "Oh, no," the girl replied. "We're going to live at this hotel until we find a house. My Daddy has a new job and we had to sell our house and move." The lady said, "Oh, it's too bad you don't have a home." To which the girl replied, "Oh we have a home-it's just that we don't have a house to put it in."
The large question that looms before us is What’s The Difference Between A House And A Home?
There are a number of small differences but the one that to me is the most important is in a real Home, God the Father, Jesus His Son and the Holy Spirit also resides. Without these three also residing in the lives and hearts of those living in a House, you don’t really have the degree of love in your life that God wants us to have. You don’t have the love and guidance emanating from God the Father through His son Jesus, transferred to believers by the Holy Spirit and living and residing within our hearts and minds that’s required to turn a mere physical structure into a vibrant, active and spirit filled Home. A Home where God’s Word is the true ruler and where His Will and His love provide the ones very reason for existence.
It is in this type of Home were those residing in it and are part of it are constantly seeking to strengthen and deepen their understanding, commitment and relationship with our Lord. The simplest way to do this is by just asking Him and if your hearts are truly seeking these three things, our Lord will provide as His word promises in Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us”
z35W7z4v9z8w
