So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love. Ephesians 3:17 ESV
When I was a teenager, my favorite place to go on summer vacation was to my grandparent’s house. Of course, I loved their company, but they also made me feel special because they had a guest room just for me! It had really neat antique furniture and its own bathroom. But in the back of my mind, I knew that no matter how long I stayed or how much fun I had, that eventually I had to go home.
As Christians we begin our journey with Jesus by putting our faith in Him and inviting Him into our hearts. But Paul prays that we when we invite Jesus to come, that it will be far more than expecting Him to stay in our guest room for a while. Paul uses the word dwell, which means,” take up permanent residence.” Jesus wants to do more than just come for a visit. Dwelling means as Paul goes on to say that we are being rooted just like a tree into a relationship with God. Now if you go outside and glance down the street, I am pretty sure that there are not any trees going for a stroll around your neighborhood. No! Trees stay in one spot because that is where they are rooted. Last of all Paul shows us that we are not just rooted out of obligation to God, but because of love – His love. The God of the universe sent His only Son to die on the cross because of His love for us. And because of that, we can trust Him with every room of our house. In fact, we can joyfully sign over the title to our home to Him and hand Him the keys! Jesus wants more than a guest room. He wants to live in our hearts forever!
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An excellent illustration of Paul’s words Pastor Pete. I appreciate how you painted a picture of what Paul meant with the word “dwell.” Your trip down memory lane took me on my own memory journey back to the room I used when visiting my grandparents home. I grew up in Amish country and their home was situated on the main street of a small country village. My assigned room faced the street. At night I would be lulled to sleep by the sounds of horses hooves and buggy wheels moving down the road.
Keep writing Beth. There is a beautiful jewel of a story hidden there!
A great analogy, Pete. At first I thought you were going the other way with it – Some of us get to stay in some beautiful places in this life, but this is not our permanent home. Someday we will leave this “guest room” and go to our REAL home. 😉
Good point! I had not thought of that angle.