As I look closely at the word I see its meaning jumping off of the page. As I aspire daily to be a homemaker I am all the more convinced that homes cannot make themselves.
To train the younger women to be......homemakers.....Titus 2:4-5
A home left to itself will quickly become a place it was not intended to be!
Just as a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame (Prov 29:15), so a home left to itself will bring much heartache.
Making a home takes effort. A home needs to be tended, guarded, watched over. The home I am referring too is not the four walls (or many more) in which we reside. That is referred to as a house.
home-to the place where it belongs, the end of a course
This definition seems to fit well with what I am considering. A home is a place to belong.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2
In the same way that my life should not be conformed to this world, neither should my home.
A christian home should look completely different than the home of unbelievers. From the respect for the hierarchy of authority that God has initiated to how time is spent a christian home should reflect God's grace and mercy to the world.
God in his sovereignty has given the husbands the role as leader, the wives the role as helper and the children the responsibility to obey. It can all seem so harsh to an unbeliever. But when a christian home is founded on these key roles, it reflects a picture of Christ's love to a hurting world.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Ephesians 5:25-32
As keeper of my home, am I watching over the ways of my household (Prov 31:27)?
There are many areas of my home that need to be watched over and guarded carefully. It can be easy to put the place before the people who reside in our homes. My main concern every day should not be a spotless home, but a home where the love of Christ is shared with my husband, children and all who come through my doors. As I take my children alongside me and train them to care for a home we are spending valuable time together. I am teaching them to have a servant's heart as I strive to meet their needs and they are learning valuable lessons in running a home as they work alongside me.
As I watch over my household I need to be aware of the magazines and the books that are making there way into my home. A television is another potential influence for evil on my children. Are the books, magazines, computer sites and movies we watch bringing honor to Christ and building up my faith and family?
Making a home takes work. But, its work that God has created me to do. With the guidance of a loving husband and the nurturing servant's heart of a mom, christian homes can be beautiful reflections of Christ's love. My desire is to have a home that makes the world hungry to know Christ as they observe our daily interactions with one another.
Still Learning...
Holli
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