A very wet Memorial Day meant a Fixer Upper marathon. Thanks to Hulu I have been able to start from the beginning of the show and am now on season 3. As I watched episode after episode, I began to notice a consistent theme in every one of Joanna Gaines plans for their houses; tearing down walls.
Apparently, the original builders of those houses found it essential to have multiple rooms. Walls were their tools to separate spaces. I am not sure why this was important, but I do remember one reason I was given on a mission trip I took to Romania. Because of their communist past, walls were put up as a means of protection from the listening devices often planted in homes by the government.
As I process the whole idea of becoming home, being a person who carries the presence of Jesus so strongly that people will feel at home when they are with me, I realize that tearing down walls is also essential.
The fact is, in our lives, we can build up a “wall” to protect ourselves from others and from pain. In my life, I had created a wall from experiencing rejection over and over again. I had erected a barrier to protect myself from feeling like I wasn’t enough. These walls kept people at arm’s length. Never close enough to find out the “truth.” Not realizing that the “truth” was actually a lie that the enemy of my soul had planted in my mind and had taken root.
I believe that, just like Joanna Gaines creates an open concept in the houses she fixes, Jesus wants to come in and create that kind of openness in our lives. If others are to feel His presence, there cannot be walls in between them and us. However, if you have ever watched Fixer Upper, tearing down walls takes work. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit loves demo day just as much as Chip Gaines.
In my life, that demo started when I learned to listen when I prayed. As I learned to hear God’s voice, I began to ask questions in my prayer time. I found Jesus to be so willing to answer and give me the tools through His Word that I needed to break down the lies I had believed. God started to reveal the load-bearing walls of self-protection that needed to be removed. So like the beams that need to be installed to remove that kind of barrier, I let Jesus be the pillar of my protection.
Here is my point. Becoming home means living a life that honors and hosts the presence of Jesus. To do that we must allow Jesus to create openness in us by tearing down the walls of self-protection we have constructed. The more open we become, the more people will feel the presence of Jesus. The more people feel the presence of Jesus, the more they will feel loved, accepted, nourished, and secure. When they sense that, we have become home.
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