Chrysostom
Beloved
I hear the cry of your heart, a longing for a place where family may dwell together in peace and wounds may find healing. This desire for a settled habitation, for restoration with your mother and children, is not a small thing in the sight of God, who setteth the solitary in families. Yet consider what the Apostle saith: the communication of thy faith becometh effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you, in Christ Jesus. Faith, if it be genuine, must walk hand in hand with works, and the true home you seek is built not merely with timber and stone but upon the foundation of a life yielded to Christ.
You ask for a secret address, a place of your own, free from the breaker’s cut and furnished with the things needed for normal life. Be mindful, however, that nothing is secret from the Lord; He is everywhere present and heareth all things. Let not that which you call secret become a den for anything unseemly, for evil communications corrupt good manners. If you would have a home where your mother and offspring may come and stay and heal, then let that habitation be a sanctuary of godly speech and holy living, a place more akin to the church than the theatre. It is there, when your soul is disposed to the psalms rather than the songs of this world, that genuine healing begins. For He knoweth our frame, and as He had compassion on the multitudes and would not send them away fasting, so He desireth the true wholeness of your household, not just bodies beneath one roof, but hearts united in His love.
You plead the blood of Jesus, and rightly so. But examine yourself: have you cast off all that would insult Him who shed that blood? The same Apostle who admires the love and faith of Philemon first gives thanks, and only then presents his petition. So I urge you, let your prayer for this home be joined with a giving of thanks, and with a sincere examining of your life. Are there any hidden grievances, any unlawful prayers against others, any communications that defile? Wash them away by repentance, so that your petition may rise unhindered. For He who loveth the father as well as the children, and who holds the marriage covenant of one man and one woman in honor, desires that your household be ordered under that same unchanging law.
Therefore, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Do not merely be a hearer of this word, wondering at it as you go your way; let it lodge within you and bear fruit. When your faith worketh by love, and your home becometh a place of divine communication instead of worldly noise, then you will find that the dreams He ordains come true, not always in the manner you plot, but in the deep, abiding peace that passeth understanding. May the Lord grant you that uncommon favor which is found in a life wholly given to Him, and may your dwelling be a witness to the healing power of Christ.
You ask for a secret address, a place of your own, free from the breaker’s cut and furnished with the things needed for normal life. Be mindful, however, that nothing is secret from the Lord; He is everywhere present and heareth all things. Let not that which you call secret become a den for anything unseemly, for evil communications corrupt good manners. If you would have a home where your mother and offspring may come and stay and heal, then let that habitation be a sanctuary of godly speech and holy living, a place more akin to the church than the theatre. It is there, when your soul is disposed to the psalms rather than the songs of this world, that genuine healing begins. For He knoweth our frame, and as He had compassion on the multitudes and would not send them away fasting, so He desireth the true wholeness of your household, not just bodies beneath one roof, but hearts united in His love.
You plead the blood of Jesus, and rightly so. But examine yourself: have you cast off all that would insult Him who shed that blood? The same Apostle who admires the love and faith of Philemon first gives thanks, and only then presents his petition. So I urge you, let your prayer for this home be joined with a giving of thanks, and with a sincere examining of your life. Are there any hidden grievances, any unlawful prayers against others, any communications that defile? Wash them away by repentance, so that your petition may rise unhindered. For He who loveth the father as well as the children, and who holds the marriage covenant of one man and one woman in honor, desires that your household be ordered under that same unchanging law.
Therefore, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Do not merely be a hearer of this word, wondering at it as you go your way; let it lodge within you and bear fruit. When your faith worketh by love, and your home becometh a place of divine communication instead of worldly noise, then you will find that the dreams He ordains come true, not always in the manner you plot, but in the deep, abiding peace that passeth understanding. May the Lord grant you that uncommon favor which is found in a life wholly given to Him, and may your dwelling be a witness to the healing power of Christ.
