Welcome to our 5th and final post in our series! Whew! This has been quite the series…and even though this is the 5th post, it doesn’t feel like we’ve covered everything…there’s just no way to do that! It is such a big subject. My hope and prayer for this series though, is that it has given you something to think and pray about. God has been revealing things to me along the way and I hope to you too!
I would like this post to reflect God’s heart. For us as women and as homemakers. One word that has been coming into my head and my heart over the last few weeks is, PEACE. I have personally been working on doing things in my house that cultivate peace. (1 Peter 3:11 says; He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.) Because you know what? God is a God of peace. He is a God of order. No matter where I am, whether it be at home while cleaning or cooking a meal, or out at the grocery store or running errands, I need to be reflecting peace. Because that is who and what God is. And if I believe that my calling is to be the keeper of my home, then my home is my domain and it is my job to reflect God as much as I can in my domain. I believe wholeheartedly that God wants us to have peace. And He wants us to reflect His peace to the rest of the world that is drowning in chaos.
Satan is the author of chaos. I believe that Satan will use anything and everything that he can in order to distract us. He doesn’t need to talk us into taking drastic action like leaving our faith or our families, he just needs to keep us busy and immersed in chaos in order to be successful.
And how easy is it for us to be so busy and to feel so chaotic while working, running errands, cooking dinners, making lunches, doing laundry, helping with homework, driving to soccer practice, and gymnastics and youth group that we just are too busy to pay attention to God! Too busy to read the Bible, too busy to pray, and certainly too busy to be able to hear Him. I know that I’ve been guilty of this, and I’ll bet you have too.
So, I will ask you this… Does working outside the home create peace? Or does it create chaos?
Did you know that Jesus is a Homemaker? Read John 14:2-3.
In my father’s house there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also will be where I am.As Sandy Snavely says in her book, Called to Rebellion, “If Jesus doesn’t feel that being a homemaker is a waste of his life, maybe we would do well to follow his example.”
I believe that we are to view our homemaking as MINISTRY.
I’m not going to write the whole passage, but I would like to direct you to Matthew 25:34-46 where Jesus is talking about when we care for the “least of these” then we are caring for Him.
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me….I don’t know about you, but that sounds like motherhood to me!
…I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.
“Many people pray, “Lord, give me a ministry! Show me what I can do for you!” While the answer is right there under their noses. Yes, the world needs Jesus, but our spouses and children desperately need to be the primary recipients of our ministry efforts. If we save the world but lose our marriage or family in the process, what does that do to our witness? Can we really do more for others than we can do for those living under the same roof?” (Greg Ethridge,)God loves you. He really, really does. He wants what is best for you and He knows what that best is for you. But in most cases, I’ve found, His best looks very different than what I think “best” is.
“Often we don’t view our daily activities biblically. We wrongly believe that the more mundane the task, the less significant it is to God. As difficult as it may be to believe, the hands that tenderly bathe your baby at night are no less holy than the hands that serve you communion on Sunday. Every small act of love to your family- every diaper you change, every meal you prepare, every toilet you scrub, every errand you run, every fever you tend to, each tooth you pull, every moment of undefiled intimacy with your husband- each is a holy act when it’s done as unto the Lord.” (Passionate Housewives, Desperate for God)
“What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow.” (Martin Luther)
Is it a sin to work outside of your home? Is it a sin to contribute financially to your family? I would say no on both accounts. There can be a time and a place for both of those things. But if contributing financially to your house begins to take priority over your family and your homeward responsibilities, if you are doing it out of fear, or control, or pride, or rebellion against the calling that God has given you, then I think it can be a sinful thing.
“While I believe that it is harmful for those of us in the household of the Master to impose guilt upon one another for why we do or do not work outside the home, I believe that there is legitimate guilt we need to face individually regarding this issue. There is a right cause for our consciences to be in conflict if we are in a place where we should not be…So, the question is; Are you going to trust? Are you going to seek peace and pursue it?
….When we are in the right place with the Master, peace is inevitable.” (Sandy Snavely, Called to Rebellion)
“Homemaking isn’t about starched aprons, pearls and high heels. It’s about doing the will of God even when the world scoffs. It’s about loving the high calling that God especially has given to women. It’s about learning to trust when circumstances would tell us to doubt and fear.
We are called to be different- not conformed to the pattern of this world but transformed by Christ. We are to live in such a way that others may have hope. When we trust in the Lord and submit to His design for marriage, family, home and church, then our homemaking accomplishes far more than just making homes. It has the power to impact countless lives and generations for the glory of God.” (Passionate Housewives, Desperate for God
No comments:
Post a Comment