Dwelling in God’s Heart – The Front Porch

Dwelling in God’s Heart – The Front Porch.

“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”  (James 4:8).

“I am inside My Father, and you are inside Me, and I am inside you.” (John 14:20).

Even though the phrase “accept Jesus into our heart” is not in Scripture, we get the picture. Accepting Jesus into our hearts means we receive Him into the very core of our being, into the centerpiece of who we are, affecting everything about us. When we receive Jesus into our heart-home, our identity becomes His, the essence of our personhood is intimately wrapped into the essence of Christ’s Personhood. When we make our home in His home, He miraculously become a resident inside each of us as well. And when we experience that Double Union with Jesus Christ, we discover that our spiritual location is inside of the very heart of God. In other words, if the Son is inside the Father, and we are inside the Son, then logically we are inside the Father! By dwelling in the Son’s heart, we dwell in the Father’s heart as well. By living inside the “Person after God’s own heart,” we find ourselves inside God’s heart! As Paul claims in Colossians 3:3, believers are “hidden within Christ, inside of God.”

Way back in 1954 there was a creative little evangelistic tract produced by Inter-Varsity Press, written by a pastor named Robert Boyd Munger. He entitled his brief tract, “My Heart – God’s Home.” I recommend it if you find it. Following up on Revelation 3:20, Pastor Munger imagined a believer opening his door and escorting Jesus through the home of his heart, now that Jesus has taken up residence in him. Now that Jesus dwells in him, and He has moved into his heart, what will Jesus see there? So the believer in the tract proceeds to give a tour of his heart-home with Jesus as he welcomes Christ into his heart. Together they tour the person’s study, dining room, living room, workroom, recreation room, bedroom and hall closet. I thought this was an engaging idea, but now I would like to give the other side of the story. Jesus lives within us, to be sure. But we also live within Jesus, hence inside the very heart of God. So if the Father was to give us a guided tour of His heart, what would we find? What will be waiting for us to discover in the many rooms of God’s heart? We could easily entitle this, “God’s Heart -My Home.”

Like anyone’s home, God’s heart will reflect His attitudes, motivations, personality, character traits, His heavenly “tastes” in interior décor. God’s deeply held convictions will be revealed in His heart-home, as they are in our own hearts. Using Scripture as our guide, we will explore God’s heart as we make ourselves at home and abide in Him. We will explore everything from the front porch to the front door, the living room to the dining room, from the kitchen to the study to the chapel. And many more rooms as well, like the bedroom, the bathroom, and the nursery. There may even be a sneak peek at the family room, the children’s playroom, and the school room. Naturally, our tour of God’s house begins at the front porch.

THE FRONT PORCH. Before we even enter God’s house, we can’t help but notice in our approach a big sign on the front porch, “WELCOME.” The Lord seems to want for us to get that straight right from the beginning. God wants to reveal his generosity of spirit, His large-heartedness, and so He offers the best in hospitality. He makes His home available to literally everyone… Mi casa, su casa.  There are no signs prohibiting trespassers or salesmen. The front porch light is always on, and the rocking chairs are always available. God doesn’t want His home to exclude anyone who wants to enter His heart through the front door. (More on that special front door later). God’s heart delights in being a source of life for all who would have Him, and actually, even for those who don’t want Him quite yet. “He is not willing that any shall perish, but desires that all might come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9). And as Yahweh declared through His prophet Ezekiel, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his ways and live!” (Ezek. 33:4). God’s heart is big enough to house the world, and His home can accommodate the universe if it comes to that.

Father Abraham was definitely a man after God’s own heart. He was uniquely called a “friend of God.” One of the reasons Yahweh chose Abrahm to be on the point for this Covenant that established the Chosen People in his family, was that Abraham possessed the qualities of fatherhood that would be so crucial as the Faith was handed down from one generation to the next. (Genesis 12:1-3; 17:1-7). It appears that father Abraham reflected the heart of Father God, including Abraham’s generous spirit of hospitality. In fact, there is a famous scene when the Lord came upon Abraham on his front porch near his tent, his porch being under a shade tree. (Genesis 18).

“May the All-Merciful One bless this table at which we have eaten. May it be like the table of Abraham our father; All who are hungry may eat from it, and all who are thirsty may drink from it.” (from a traditional Sephardic Jewish Passover liturgy).

Abraham, that towering Patriarch who continues to be the grandfather of the faithful, was known in ancient rabbinic circles as one big Welcome mat. According to a Hebrew saying as old as the hills, Abraham always had all four of his tent flaps open. He is the epitome of that sacred virtue known as hospitality… a magnanimous heart, an open spirit that welcomes all comers, known or unknown. This reflects the heart of God, for sure.

The story most often mentioned in this light is that scene in Genesis 18, when he and Sarah entertained angels without knowing. (Hebrews 13:2). Well, if Abraham did not know he was serving heavenly visitors at the start of this scene, he certainly knew it by the time they were haggling over numbers on the road to Sodom. In fact, we wonder if he knew his guests were perhaps not just three garden-variety angels, but perhaps the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit themselves in the flesh.

What did Abraham do to deserve his reputation as the ultimate host, Mr. Hospitality? Let’s take a look at the scene, and see what Abraham was made of…

1. He was on the look-out. Abraham was comfortably relaxing on his front porch, and he “looked up.” He noticed. He was able to welcome his guests only after he was aware enough to notice their presence. Hospitality begins with the conscious decision not to turn a blind eye, but instead to look up and notice, and then act. What might keep us from being observant? Too busy? Tired? Just plain cheap? Father Abraham starts us out sweet and simple… just look up.
2. He gave more than enough. Talk about extravagant and over the top! He sent Sarah and the servants off to the kitchen to get 20 quarts of fine flour, enough bread to feed 100 people! And that wonderful custom of killing the fatted calf (rf. to Prodigal Son story)? This was traditionally the “feast calf”, and was intended to feed a small village of about 100 people as well! So here is Abraham, the host who seems generous to a fault, reflecting the very heart of the Host of the Universe, who welcomed us to His world, providing more than we could ever need, way more, simply out of extravagant, even wasteful love.
3. He was at their service. Don’t you love this picture of Abraham standing near his guests while they are eating his food, the towel tastefully draped over his forearm, eager to make his guests feel at home, fat and happy? He was so busy being the host that it appears he didn’t even eat at his own feast! In his mind, it wasn’t self-denial or noble sacrifice. He was happy only when his visitors were satisfied. So it appears that hosts sometimes go hungry. One could always eat leftovers later, right?
4. He completed the welcome. There is something very sweet about Abraham “seeing them out,” walking them out to the road away from their tent when the feast was done. What a perfect time to personally confirm your care for the guests, a time for a final handshake or hug, a genial good-bye, and providing that extra bit of friendliness to complete the welcoming care.

God’s front porch… We pray that anyone who approaches the heart of God will experience the hospitality and generous spirit of father Abraham, a man after God’s own heart.