Home Improvement

We use the words house and home a lot. Often those two words are used interchangeably. “I’m going home”, we’ll say or, “I’m headed to the house.” House is defined as a building that serves as living quarters for one or a few families. A building – a structure – wood and nails or bricks and mortar, that’s what a house is. A home is defined several different ways - one's place of residence, the social unit formed by a family living together, a familiar or usual setting, a place of origin, or one's own country. A house is built by human hands and a home… well, a home is built by human hearts. To build a house, it requires a lot of sweat. To build a home it requires a lot of love. As a house is being built there is the sound of hammers and nail guns. When homes are being built there is the sound of stories being read at bedtime, long conversations around a kitchen table, basketballs bouncing in the driveway and familiar questions like, “What’s for dinner?” or “Can I go out tonight?” The building of a house requires permits and mortgages. The building of a home requires respect, and forgiveness. We spend a lot of time and a lot of money on our houses yet, often times, we spend very little time on ‘home’ maintenance. We take the ‘home’ for granted much of the time. Oh sure, we cut the grass, pull the weeds, vacuum the floors and clean the bathrooms but, do we spend more of our time repairing the ‘house’ or building the ‘home’?
I was in Home Depot the other day (it should really be called House Depot) and I noticed the expansive rack of various home repair and improvement manuals. I wonder how much money is spent annually in an effort to make our houses look better, feel cooler (or warmer) and function more efficiently. I wonder how many manuals, on the subject of home repair or home improvement, are sold each year. How many hours are spent watching the home improvement channels and television shows? What answer do you get when you ask yourself, “How much time to I devote each and everyday to building and maintaining a HOME?”
It takes a lot of things to build a home. It takes love, respect, forgiveness, laughter, tears, compassion, confidence, and it takes lots of communication. I could go on and on. The main thing it takes, however, is great love and respect for God through Jesus Christ. Just as every house has a foundation so does every home. The stability and sturdiness of our homes’ foundation determines how long it wall stand. Jesus once said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27).
The Lord has been good to me - much better than I ever deserved. He has blessed me with an amazing wife and an incredible family and He has held my hand as I’ve tried, as best I can, to build something that somehow resembles a home. I look at the home that we’re in the process of building and I know that some of the boards still need replacing. There may be some leaks that need plugging. The doors may squeak a little and the faucets might drip. But I hope and I pray that the foundation we have begun to lay will survive the most horrid of storms. When the winds blow hard and the flood waters come, my prayer is that our home’s foundation will not shift… not even a fraction of an inch.
My desire is to build a home that will stand forever – a home that can be passed down from generation to generation - a home that my children can pass on to their children and grandchildren. A home built on the principles of God’s Word and filled with Christ’s love.

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15)

P/S – I’m pretty good at ‘house’ repair and maintenance. But when it comes to ‘home’ building, I’m still an apprentice… it’s my wife who is the “Master Home Builder”, and to her I say thank you and I love you!