A Welcoming Place

Have you ever wondered if you were really wanted somewhere?

As Jesus walked along with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, the Bible tells us, “Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and [Jesus] indicated that He would have gone farther” (Luke 24:28 NKJV).

I can imagine Jesus saying, “Okay, guys, good to see you. Bye now.”

“Wait. Where are you going?”

“I’m leaving.”

“No, no, no. You’re not going anywhere. Come and spend some more time with us.”

In fact, they said, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent” (verse 29 NKJV). I love the next part of this verse: “And He went in to stay with them.”

The apostle Paul said His prayer for the Ephesian believers was that “Christ may dwell in [their] hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:17 NKJV).

Why would Paul pray that Christ would dwell in the hearts of those who were already Christians? Doesn’t Christ dwell in the heart of every believer?

Yes, He does. But the word “dwell” is a compound word that basically means to live in a house. And when a prefix meaning “down” is added, it means “to settle down and be at home.”

So here’s what Paul was saying: “My prayer for you is that Christ would settle down and be at home in your hearts.”

For the sake of illustration, let’s say that Jesus was coming to your house today. Certainly, you’d want to clean up. But is there anything that you wouldn’t want Him to see? To be a Christian means giving Christ the master key to every door. It means wanting Him to be at home and in control of every part of our lives.

Is Jesus at home in your heart today?