Making a House a Home
“Behold, thus shalt the man be blessed who
fears the Lord. Psalm 128:4
A lumber company has placed a number of
billboard ads along the
highway that tell how
to make your house a
home. Some picture a
remodeled kitchen
with beautiful new cab-
inets; others a lovely
patio. These features
undoubtedly can add to
a family’s enjoyment
of a house, but they don’t
make a house a home. In fact,
they may detract, though this
need not be the case.
It takes godliness and
love to make a home, no mat-
ter how simple or luxurious
may be the house. The happy
family portrayed in Psalm
128 is headed by a man who
“fears the Lord.” (v. 4). The
wife is like a “fruitful vine,”
and the children like “olive
plants all around your table.”
(v. 3). This is a picture of contentment, joy, and fruitful-
ness, the result of a loving, godly home.
I can’t help but think that the home into which Mo-
ses was born was like this. Although we know little
about it, Moses’ parents risked their lives to keep their
baby boy from being drowned. His sister Miriam dis-
played much concern when she watched over her infant
brother as he floated in the Nile in his waterproof bas-
ket. Moses went into the palace of Pharoah as a boy, but
he chose to identify with God and the Israelites when he
became a man (Heb. 11:25). I believe this shows the
love and godly influence of his parents in his earliest
years.
A remodeled kitchen, a new patio, or a new house
may give enjoyment. But it
takes a combination of godli-
ness and love to make a house a
home.—Herbert Vander Lugt
A house is built of bricks
and stones,
Of sills and posts and piers;
But a home is built of lov-
ing deeds
That stand a thousand
years.—Anon.
A house is built by hands,
but a home is built by hearts.
[Our Daily Bread, Copy-
right 1987, RBC Ministries,
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Used by permission.]
Think about it!
There is another kind of
“house” that we should be
concerned about. It, too, is to
be more than a “house;” actu-
ally, it is to be a “temple,” a
dwelling place for God’s Spirit. “What? Know ye not
that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is
(Continued on page 14)
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Vol. 3, No.3
“And ye are complete in him.” Colossians 2:10
May/June 2000
Our Mission Statement: Believing that we can find
completeness in all areas of our lives only “in him, who
is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians
2:10), it is the mission of Hearth to Hearth to provide a
forum for Christian women to reach out to each other in
friendship, with joy and hope; and to encourage each
other to find our completeness in Christ as we sojourn
here on our way to the kingdom.
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Woman to Woman
