God Goes House Hunting: A Pentecost Story

From John 14:

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

Imagine God is in the market for a new house. His agent has a couple of options ready to show, and they have invited you to tag along. When you drive up to the first one, you are dumbstruck. It’s beautiful. This is the kind of house you would imagine someone with unlimited riches would pick. The paint is perfect; the lawn pristine. Already, you can imagine yourself sipping tea on the front porch with your Hollywood shades and sun hat and no cares in the world. Of course, you could never afford this mansion, but one can always dream. The agent shares all the stats about the estate. It’s brand new, huge, and state-of-the-art. It has land for miles, perfect views of the mountains, and a private beach. Every feature you could think of is in this house. There is a movie theater, sauna, indoor pool, and an entire floor dedicated to entertainment and games. The kitchen is massive; the ceiling is so high you can barely see it. Every fixture is opulent and expensive. Are you walking on floors made of gold? Is that a diamond banister? Before you can even see all the rooms, it’s time to move to the next house.

Ok, you think, but there is no way another house could compare to this one.

No. This can’t be right.

You pull up to the next house, but can it even be called a house? This shack, for that’s exactly what it looks like, is barely standing. You aren’t even sure it will support you if you try to walk in. The paint is virtually non-existent, and the shutters that remain are hanging at odd angles, attached by only one or two screws. Windows are broken. The chimney is crumbling in several places. You are ready to turn around and get back in the car. This must be the wrong address. To his credit, the agent seems a little embarrassed to even show this one, but he invites you inside. Clearly, there are foundation problems. The door frame is crooked, and the door sticks and barely opens. You walk through spiderwebs as you step over the threshold. With your first step inside, your foot breaks right through the floor. Not a great start. Dirt is everywhere. There are places on the walls where different layers have peeled, and you can see decades of different color schemes peeking through. None of them are tasteful. You take a deep breath and almost choke on the smell of smoke. Is that mildew? Mold? Probably black mold. Seems like that kind of place. There are only a couple of rooms, and you are ready to get out of here. You duck your head in quickly and see more of the same: Walls with holes, crumbling plaster, stained carpet, or rotted wood on the floors. There are water stains on the ceiling and in one area, you can see through straight to the sky where a tree fell on the roof.

Finally, it’s time to leave. You are still unsure why the agent even brought you here. You think maybe it’s just for the lot, but as you step back outside, you realize the lot is tiny, and the neighborhood is pretty rough, too.

Just as you are about to hop back in the car and get out of there, you hear God say, “It needs some work, but I’ll take it.”

WHAT!?

But God, you say, barely able to form complete sentences, you don’t want for money. That other house is a more fitting place for you. It’s beautiful. That house is fit for a king! You can’t live HERE. This place is full of dirt and darkness and it’s all broken down. The only thing that could fix this is a bulldozer.

“Ah, but you don’t see what I see. Remember, it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17).

Which house are you? Or, which house were you?

As we prepare to celebrate Pentecost, the time when God gives his Holy Spirit to believers, I am amazed and humbled.

When the Israelites were wandering in the desert and settling in Canaan, God dwelt in a tabernacle (a sort of really complex tent that could be moved from place to place).

Much later, Solomon builds a temple in Jerusalem, wherein God dwelt.

In both of these times, only the high priests were able to enter into God’s presence. When Jesus died on the cross, the thick curtain that separated the place God dwelt (the Holy of Holies) tore apart, and things have never been the same since.

Now, God’s dwelling place isn’t a tent or a building. It isn’t made of fine metals and jewels.

Now, it’s us.

You heard me right.

God picked us.

Find that hard to believe? Me, too. But the bible is pretty clear about this. Here are a few verses:

●     Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)

●     For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16)

●     Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. (2 Timothy 1:14)

●     But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:11)

I love the verses from John that I shared at the beginning, especially the part in verse 23 where “Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.’”

God picks our hearts to move into. He comes to us. We are his living temples. We are no longer separated, no longer dependent on a high priest to come into his presence on our behalf. His Holy Spirit moves in with us!

But, to be honest, it doesn’t make much sense to me.

God could have anything. He is the creator of the universe. He could make himself a dwelling place unlike anything the world has seen.

Instead, he chose the little shack that was my heart. When I barely knew him and certainly didn’t have everything in order in my little spiritual house. When things were broken and in need of repair. When my foundation was unstable and tilting and my roof was caving in.

Still, he chose me. I heard him knock, and all I did was open the jammed door, with his help, and in came the Holy Spirit.

Oh, he’s fixing things up, alright. My little shack is looking better all the time. Still, I am amazed at his great love for me - such great love that he would want to dwell in me and with me.

He loves you like that, too.

What joy is ours, believers!

What joy we have in being with our Lord. We are not separated. He is truly Emmanuel, God with us.

That is something to celebrate this Pentecost season!