Love for God – can people say they have more love because they were in your home?

Can others say they love God more because they were with you today?

This week I have been reading Being There: How to Love Those Who Are Hurting by Dave Furman (its fantastic! expect a review soon!) Early in the book he says, speaking of a meal he & his wife shared with a leader of a missionary organization, that the leader told him his one goal for his missionaries is that they would be able to say they genuinely love God more for having been on the mission field. Dave then turns that concept toward other areas of life, specifically for the purpose of his book – suffering, encouraging his readers to ask the question – do I love God more for having walked with another person through their suffering? It’s a beautiful thought.

I think that question sums up what our hearts ought to be looking for in every circumstance. My heart immediately began to reprioritize. I began to question: Can I say I honestly love God more because I have been hospitable? Can those who enter my home honestly say they love God more for having been in my home?

While I love to decorate & cook & don’t absolutely hate cleaning, it can all begin to feel a little purposeless in the daily grind of it all. But with a goal like that, of loving God more & of others loving God more, my home & daily tasks can explode with deep purpose.

Questions I’ve Been Asking

Do my children love God more for having spent today with me in my home? Did they learn of him? Did they enjoy his good gifts? Did we speak of his kindness as we played a game & laughed together? Did we tell of his power to heal body & soul as we bandaged that boo-boo? Did we speak of his order & creativity & cleansing power as we organized & decorated & cleaned?

Do my friends & strangers love God more for having come to dinner tonight? Did we speak of his abundant mercy? Did we revel in our enjoyment of his gift of taste & calm? Did we rest together in his provision? Did we discuss theological questions? Did we talk about how to effectively minister together? Did we share the hope of the Gospel? Did we laugh & joke & enjoy to the glory of God?

Do I love God more for having lived in my home today? Did I meditate on his grace in my incredible lack? Was I amazed that He not only gave me enough to eat but made it enjoyable? Did I rest in His sovereign grace, realizing that He alone sustains all things? Did I clean to be a blessing to His people & meditate on the servant nature He took on?

Did I spend time in His Word so I would a heart full & ready to pour out? Did I sit at His feet & get to know Him today? Did I invest in that relationship & show my children how to invest in their relationship with Christ?

Every one of those questions is challenging to write. God, in His grace, gives purpose & meaning to the seemingly purposeless. Everything He does is amazing & full & beautiful & He has chosen me. He has called me to a specific task. That is beautiful.

Let’s live our lives to the glory of God & for the good of others today, in our homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, & churches.

Welcome everyone because you have been welcomed by Christ & ask the question: How can I love God more at the end of this day & how can I encourage others to as well?