How should a follower of Christ approach home ownership?

So, Harold and I are currently renting an apartment, and our lease is up in September. We started the home ownership process back in the middle of March--which involved getting pre-approved by the bank and deciding upon our Realtor (which wasn't much of a decision, considering she's my very own, and might I add wonderful, Aunt!). It is now May, and the search for the perfect (and still available) house persists.

At the onset of our search, we were scouring what seemed like a widespread radius of geographic locations, both around and within the Tampa region. We were considering everywhere from Land O' Lakes, New Tampa, and Riverview to Brandon, Lutz, Seminole Heights, and Oldsmar. And although that may seem like a rather broad range of possibilities, the mere decision to look for houses in Florida was a narrowed decision in and of itself.

Up until March, Harold and I had been prayerfully contemplating living in Atlanta, GA. Harold currently holds a position in store management. However, his degree is in Finance, and so he is eager to secure a position within the financial field. The company he currently works for has their financial department near Atlanta, which led us to consider relocating out of state to Georgia.

However, during the middle of March, Harold and I attended a Church in Downtown Tampa called Covenant Life Church (CLC). We were both tremendously blessed by our first visit to the church--blessed by the kindness of the people, the soundness of the preaching, and the genuine reverence for Christ and the Gospel displayed throughout all other aspects of the service. We literally left the service and started driving around looking at nearby homes for sale. We were both suddenly certain that the Lord intended for us to remain in Florida, and more specifically, in Tampa.

Our search for a house has triggered the essential question of how a follower of Christ should approach home ownership. There are many factors to consider when buying a home--including, but not limited to safety, affordability, aesthetics, proximity to work/entertainment/church/family, etc.  But what value should a Christian bestow upon these various factors? How does God's word guide us to distribute such value in a way that glorifies Him?

Verse one in 2 Corinthians 5 says this:

"For we know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."

I believe this verse sheds light on the level of value we should assign to the aforementioned factors. Essentially, any house we purchase during our time on Earth is a temporary investment. We are temporary. Things, including houses, are temporary. However, God is eternal. And through Christ, we can share in eternity. Through Christ, we have a lasting, permanent investment--a permanent residence, eternal in the heavens! So no matter how safe, or how expensive, or how aesthetically pleasing, or how conveniently located a house may be, it does not compare to the glorious, eternal house that Christ has already purchased for those who call on Him in repentance and faith.

We find assurance of this eternal real estate purchase from Jesus himself in the Gospel of John:

John 14:1-3-"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also."

As followers of Christ, we have a permanent residence in God the Father's house, prepared for us and promised to us by our Savior.

Armed with this truth, I hope to approach house hunting in a more God-centered and God-glorifying way. When I see a kitchen that is not totally renovated, and a bathroom that has a pink toilet--when I am tempted to stretch our budget ever so slightly in order to serve any other selfish aesthetic preference (can you tell that house-buying is almost 99% aesthetically-driven for me?)--I pray that I will remember just how temporary our home ownership is on this side of Heaven, and just how permanent our home will be once we step into eternity with Jesus Christ.

Let's strive less for the temporary and more for the eternal--approaching our home purchases with minds set above.

How is a follower of Christ called to trust the Lord?

So, as it turns out, my pre-k teaching position has been canceled for the upcoming 2014-2015 school year. It was a pilot program, one that apparently did not receive the desired level of response it needed to stay afloat. The good news is that I am a permanent employee through the county in which I am currently teaching. This means I am guaranteed a teaching position within the county. However, there is no specific guarantee of grade level or school location.

The essential question of how a follower of Christ is called to trust the Lord has stemmed from the news of my recent job displacement. I know that we have a sovereign God, who reigns over all that has happened, is happening and will happen. In light of this awareness, I know I ought to trust in Him fully. I am sometimes quick to put on a facade of complete trust as I relay the uncertainties of my current job predicament to others in conversation. However, I will not settle for a facade. I want my heart to be aligned more and more to authentic trust.

In Psalm 33:21, David expresses a pure sentiment of gladness as a result of His trust in the Lord:

"For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name."

I want to experience the same harvest of joy and gladness that David did. The gladness that comes from truly trusting in the Lord.

This morning revealed that my heart was not fully aligned with the authentic, joy-producing trust that David describes. I was on my way to what is called "The Pool". This is the instructional placement system that the county uses to provide permanent employees who have lost their current position (such as myself) with a new full-time teaching job.

As I was glancing at this girl driving behind me on my way to "The Pool", my mind began to meander down this trail of anxious thoughts: That girl looks like she could be going to "The Pool". What if she takes the job I want? Well maybe she lives on the very outskirts of the county and won't be interested in the same jobs that I am interested in. But she's probably ahead of me on the list, I can't believe I'm second to last on the list of 30 other employees. None of the jobs I want will be left.

You're probably getting anxious yourself just by reading my anxious thoughts! Well allow me to put you at ease and say that the girl ended up turning into a Winn Dixie parking lot. Total sigh of relief.

But the very fact that these anxious thoughts crept into my mind so invasively revealed a lack of trust in such a trustworthy God. Scripture speaks on many accounts about what our trust in God should look like and why, especially within the Psalms:

Psalm 13:5- "But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation."

Psalm 20:7-"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."

Proverbs 3:5-6-"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

Psalm 37:5-"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act."

Psalm 9:10-"And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you."

In summary, I have concluded the following things about what our trust in God should look like and why:

First, we can trust in God because His love is steadfast. He loves us so unceasingly, with a love that is incomparable to anything we could ever experience from an earthly relationship. Hopefully, we have all been able to experience the deep love of another toward us--whether it be from a parent, grandparent, spouse or even a close friend. And hopefully, from that experience, we realize that trust is indeed produced as a byproduct of knowing we are genuinely loved by someone. And since we know we are truly loved by God, whose love is unsurpassable, our hearts can lean against Him in complete trust. (Psalm 13:5)

Second, we should trust in God because He is completely reliable, whereas the things, people, and circumstances of this world are often not. We are not called to trust in "chariots and horses", so to speak. Everything on this side of Heaven is unpredictable and unreliable to some degree. But God, the one who fashioned the Heavens and the Earth, is one in whom we can place our confidence and trust. (Psalm 20:7)

Third, we should trust in God with all of our heart, surrendering our prideful tendency to trust solely in our own limited understanding of things. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

And finally, we can trust with great hope and expectation. Expectation that God will act, and will not forsake if we seek Him and commit ourselves to Him. (Psalm 37:5, Psalm 9:10)

My job situation is not grave by any means. It does not require the degree of trust that another's situation might. And yet, if we cannot trust God in little, how will we trust Him in much? Louisa Stead must have understood this to be true. For she was prepared when "much" came to call. She is the author of the hymn, "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus", which was written in response to her husband's unexpected drowning incident. I will leave you with her words, for they testify to the sweet peace that can be ours as we learn to trust in our trustworthy God.

'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

Let's seek to nurture this trust in little and in much--with minds set above.

How should a follower of Christ plan for the future?

So, I'm the kind of person who likes to know "the plan". What's the plan for dinner tonight? What's the plan for this weekend? What's the plan for our vacation? And so on.

I suppose it's the teacher in me, but I love to have a plan for both the minor and major facets of life. And this just so happens to be a season of major.

Harold and I will be celebrating our one year anniversary in July. And so, in this youthful season of our marriage, there are a lot of future considerations stacked up for planning--namely, buying a house, starting a family, and navigating careers.

With so many things to plan for, it begs the question: How should Harold and I, as followers of Christ, plan for our future?

I believe James 4:13-17 provides an answer:

"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."

Our plans should begin with surrendering fully to the Lord and His will. It's not, "We are going to live in this house, in this neighborhood, by this date". Rather, it is, "Lord, if this is your will, we will live in this house, in this neighborhood, by this date." It's not, "We will start trying to conceive in this month, and will have our baby by this month." Rather, it is, "Lord, if this is your will, we will start trying to conceive in this month, and will have our baby by this month." To drive home the point, it's not, "We will get this kind of job by this time in this area." Rather, it is, "Lord, if this is your will, we will get this kind of job by this time in this area."

It's the phrase that should precede all of our plans: Lord, if you will.

For the most part, Harold and I have been praying in this way--that God would accomplish his perfect will in all of these future endeavors. However, I know my heart does not always lend itself to complete, genuine surrender. And so my heart needs to be reminded of the assurance we can have in Christ when it comes to planning our future. Here are some of the truths that should compel our planning here on earth:

1 John 5:14-"And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears  us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him."

As we surrender our requests and plans to His good and perfect will, God hears us and responds faithfully.

Philippians 4:5-"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

As we bring forth our requests to God, we should do so prayerfully and with thanksgiving. No matter our desires or needs for the future, we should aim to display thankfulness to God, because essentially, our future is already secure in Christ for eternity.

Luke 12:18-21-"And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

We must make sure our plans are not merely self-serving and earthly like those of the rich fool. We are, as James 4 bluntly points out, a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. We must consider our plans in light of this reality and weigh the eternal value behind them.

I know that my mind and my heart are prone to wander from these peace-giving precepts as Harold and I continue to plan for our future. Maybe you feel susceptible to the same. And so I pray that the Spirit will faithfully bring to our mind these truths as we are faithful to commit them to our prayers and meditations.

 

Let's start planning for the future--with minds set above.