My Heart, Christ’s Home: The Patio
Leisure and Rest
Sunday, June 18, 2017
“I pray that out of his glorious richeshe may strengthen you with powerthrough his Spirit in your inner being,so that Christ may dwell in your heartsthrough faith,” Ephesians 3:16-17.Robert Boyd Mungerwrote this prayer which expresses his desire for intimacy with the Lord:
"Lord, I want this heart of mine to be Yours. I want to have You settle down here and be perfectly at home. Everything I have belongs to You. Let me show You around and introduce you to the various features of the home that you may be more comfortable and that we may have fuller fellowship together."
I remember the time He asked me about the playroom. I was hoping He would not ask about that. There were certain associations and friendships, activities and amusements that I wanted to keep for myself. I did not think Christ would enjoy them or approve of them, so I evaded the question. But there came an evening when I was on my way out with some of my friends, and as I was about to cross the threshold, He stopped me with a glance and asked, "Are you going out?"
I replied, "Yes."
"Good," He said, "I would like to go with you."
"Oh," I answered rather awkwardly. "I don't think, Lord Jesus, that You would really want to go with us. Let's go out tomorrow night. Tomorrow night we will go to prayer meeting, but tonight I have another appointment."
He said. "That's all right. Only I thought that when I came into your home, we were going to do everything together, to be close companions. I just want you to know that I am willing to go with you."
"Well," I said, "we will go someplace together tomorrow night."
That evening I spent some miserable hours. I felt wretched. What kind of a friend was I to Jesus when I was deliberately leaving Him out of my associations, doing things and going places that I knew very well He would not enjoy?
When I returned that evening, there was a light in His room, and I went up to talk it over with Him. I said, "Lord, I have learned my lesson. I can't have a good time without You. From now on we will do everything together." Then we went down into the playroom of the house and He transformed it. He brought into life real joy, real happiness, real satisfaction, new friends, new excitement, new joys. Laughter and music have been ringing through the house ever since.
My brain is made up of movie quotes, music lyrics, and commercial advertising jingles from the past four decades. A McDonald’s jingle from the ‘90s kept bouncing around my head this week, some of you might remember the “Food, folks, and fun” campaign that the burger giant dumped on us to convince us all that McDonald’s was all about great-tasting food, good times with friends, and a pleasant, joyful memories. None of which I believe are central to my McDonald’s experience.
I’m not sure if it matters whether we call it the playroom, the rec room, the patio—it all has to do with leisure, about rest and relaxation with Jesus. “Food, Folks, and Fun.”
FOOD.
What’s a part of our “social life,” how do we enjoy ourselves? “Social lubricant? There are a lot of folks who can’t relax or enjoy themselves unless they have a beer in their hand. It’s necessary for them to be on their way to drunk just to have a good time. For others, it’s food.
1 Corinthians 6. The people of Corinth had a saying,“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” Paul quotes it in a paragraph about all sorts of appetites and controlling them, including food and sex.
Sexual immorality. Consuming others to satisfy some hunger, some emptiness. Sexual behavior is created by God to be enjoyed inside marriage. That’s it. Maybe you’ve never heard that before. Sexual intimacy is what cements a relationship between a husband and wife. If you’re not married to the person you’ve having sex with, you are bonding yourself to someone who is not yours, you’re cheapening something deeply personal and intimate, and you’re acting in ways that God never intended or desired for yourself.
Drunkenness. Jesus spoke against drunkenness as a burden that weighs you down, not sets you free. Peter and Paul both mention the foolishness and shamefulness of being drunk, that it is indecent and detestable for God’s people (Romans 13:13, Galatians 5:21, and 1 Peter 4:3), and it is absolutely not a trait of a committed Christian leader (1 Timothy 3:3, Titus 1:7).
Gluttony. Somewhere we got the idea that drunkenness and drug use and sexual immorality are bigger sins than gluttony, but it’s the same lack of control, just a different medium.
“Betteradrycrustwith peaceand quiet thanahouse full of feasting, with strife,” Proverbs 17:1.
FOLKS.
When Jesus called the disciples to follow Him, He didn’t send them out immediately afterward. They spent time daily in His presence. It’s not clear that they ever went “home” once they decided to follow Jesus, though Peter’s mother-in-law is mentioned in Matthew 8, Mark 1, and Luke 4 as being in Peter’s home. It’s early in the ministry of Jesus and He is with them; He has not left them all alone. Jesus knew that if these people were ever going to get settled in a godly lifestyle they would need to be in His presence until they achieved some level of spiritual and personal maturity. He sent them out into the world when He believed they were ready.
Thought about a couple of older country songs as I was reading this week. Garth sang about having friends in low places. Randy sang about hanging with a better class of losers. Maybe you identify? As you look at the people you spend the most time with, your friends, buddies, girlfriends, party crowd, maybe you see that you are the ONLY one who is interested in pleasing God with your lifestyle. And you wonder why you struggle to make godly decisions on the weekend.
Not telling you to abandon all of your non-Christian, unsaved friends. If you’re not strong enough to stand in your faith around them, you should make some changes. We’re the salt of the earth and the light on the hill that point people to Jesus, but you’d better be sure you can stand and make godly decisions when you’re with your crowd. Being in a close, Christian relationship with a mentor can help you stand firm when you’re on your own.
FUN.
That word is not in the New Testament. Not in the Old Testament. Not a promise of God for His people. Even so, it seems to be an expectation of modern Christians. But there is joy. There is blessing.
Jesus spent a good deal of the “Sermon on the Mount” telling followers what would make them “blessed” or “happy.” Robert Schuller had a book on Matthew 5 called the “Be-Happy Attitudes.” The word has little to do with a pleasant state of mind. The idea is that God is extending His favor and providing something to His child. The blessings of God are found in knowing Him in prayer, in meditation, in study, in worship. He covers us as we draw close to Him.
Joy in the New Testament is closely related to blessing. At its root is the extension of God’s favor, that He leans in, draws close.
Psalm 16:11 talks about the fullness of Joy in the presence of God. There is a life of joy now and a life of joy eternally for those who stay close to God through Jesus
John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life,and have it to the full.” That is an “over and above, much more than, superior, surpassing, uncommon, remarkable” life “beyond measure.” At least those are the ideas in the description Jesus gives of the life we can receive from Him. Extreme. Ultimate. Radical. Extra-ordinary. There is not a guarantee of giddy laughter and unstoppable smiles on every disciple’s face, but the promise of a life that means something more and better . . . absolutely.
Let’s stop focusing on how much fun we have or how easy it is. There is nothing slap-happy about following Christ. But the benefits in this life and the next are totally worth whatever we may face.
Being deeply connected to Jesus allows us to really rest, to really relax, to enjoy the rich, full life He desires for us.
Compartmentalizing your life. It’s Friday night. I don’t see Jesus again till Sunday morning. I have my work life, my social life, my online life, my Jesus life.
The Living Room: Spending Time with Jesus, p. 1