At Home

It seems that we live in an age where convenience is in vogue. Many people don't have to fight the daily grind of traffic to get to the office. No, in the climax of PDAs and the infamous use of the Blackberry, homes have conveniently been transposed into the home office, complete with full teleconference capabilities. Flat screen TVs easily convert into video conference mediums, and it is commonplace for everyone to own a home fax/copier/photo printer. Students no longer leave home and head to college; they simply leave the great room and enter their private boudoirs to sit face-to-face, I mean screen-to-face with their professors. The simplicity and ease of working from home or online degrees from home have given new meaning to being at home.

American homes are not just living quarters nor are they their earlier counterparts in which the 2.5 family and a dog exchanged minor pleasantries because they were too busy with work, and play, and doing life to actually enjoy the elaborate sanctuaries that we strive to perfectly create. I remember when we lived more out of our vehicles, thus the need for SUVs because more of our lives consisted of outside of the home activities. Now our homes have definitely changed from trophy pieces to works of art to interactive living spaces. We have mastered the final frontier - we have learned to bring the outside world in and have forced our two worlds to meet in a happy marriage that we call, ________ -at-home. You can fill in the blank with whatever fits your fancy or current situation.

I positively believe that is truly living the American Dream. I mean who doesn't want to get smarter by staying at home or get more work done with less hours and more money all from the comfort of being at home. It is sheer genius to work the ground where you are planted, and this is also true of our spiritual lives. We must continuously strive to merge our "everyday" lives with our spiritual lives. God does not expect us to just be Saturday or Sunday Christians. It is his will for us to "live" as Christians everyday, everywhere not just at church. Think about Jesus, everywhere he went he was the same. He spoke to crowds about the love of God whether he was in the temple (church), on the fish bank, on a cruise (boat), on vacation (other towns), with close friends (disciples), or before large groups (multitudes). Jesus did not stop to pray only when He entered the temple. The Bible says He even prayed while He journeyed from town to town or while He was in the wilderness. The point is Jesus didn't act spiritual when He was with his church buddies, or when He was around people he wanted to impress, or when He needed the Father to deliver Him. He said that His only will was to do what pleased His Father, God.

The truth of the matter is that Jesus invented the work from home concept. His life was His ministry and no one could ever separate when He was at work from when He was at home. If we say that we love God and that we live for and serve Him, then we should be like Jesus. People should see us whether at home, at work, in the store, at church as the same person. Do people see you at church and become shocked that you actually go or even know how to pray? Would your co-workers be startled to find out that you, the one with the foul jokes or inappropriate comments, actually go to a church? Are you often cross and rude with the cashiers at your local supermarket? Would your bank teller refuse to visit your church if they found out you attend?
These seem like silly questions, but the real question is what impression do others have of your spiritual life? Are you like Jesus, the same yesterday, today, and forever? or Do you find that you are Roman - when you are with certain people you lay your church personality aside? Do you find it hard to be loving, merciful, giving grace, or even praying in front of certain people? If you relate more to the latter questions, then you need to repent. You need to ask God to forgive you for living a double life, one of which seems like a lie. You must ask God to give you a spirit of boldness so that you are not ashamed to live like Jesus. So whether you work at home or in the market place, you must merge your two realms and be an everyday, everywhere kind of Christian. So tomorrow, as you go about your daily life, check to see if your light of Christ is shining or whether it has been turned off while you do business. This doesn't mean that you have to be a fanatic or that you must speak in Churchese (Hallelujah, be blessed, you have reached the Johnson house of prayer). It just means that you must be loving, show mercy, be encouraging, refrain from gossip and let prayer fall from your lips. It is then that people see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.