Home - How good and pleasant it is!

Early mornings we're greeted first by the birds sitting on our bedroom window, a good morning melody we rarely hate. As we get up and peek through the window, they're busy searching and picking twigs in their tiny beaks and we instantly know a nest is being built nearby, and get excited all the more expecting it to be in a place where we would perhaps watch the hatchlings. How beautiful is God's creation! we exclaim and smile. Everything on this Earth has an order, rocks didn't stop being rocks after a thousand years, nor did the lions and there's a perfect home for all, even for the mighty waters. Chaos and destruction is the consequence for disobedience against the Creator's ordained nature.

For it is written:

O Lord my God, how great you are! 

You are robed with honor and majesty. You are dressed in a robe of light.

You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens;

you lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds.

You make the clouds your chariot; you ride upon the wings of the wind. 

The winds are your messengers; flames of fire are your servants.

You placed the world on its foundation so it would never be moved. 

You clothed the earth with floods of water, water that covered even the mountains. 

At your command, the water fled; at the sound of your thunder, it hurried away. 

Mountains rose and valleys sank to the levels you decreed. 

Then you set a firm boundary for the seas, so they would never again cover the earth...

The birds nest beside the streams and sing among the branches of the trees. You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home, and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor. 

You cause grass to grow for the livestock and plants for people to use...  

The birds make their nests, and the storks make their homes in the cypresses...

 You made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to set. 

You send the darkness, and it becomes night, when all the forest animals prowl about...

When you take away their breath, they die and turn again to dust. 

When you give them your breath, life is created, and you renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the Lord continue forever! 

The Lord takes pleasure in all he has made! [Psalm 104]

Home is a physical entity for the invisible valuables in life - love, safety, peace, harmony, contentment, refuge and so on. We sleep everyday but rest peacefully occasionally, we're surrounded by people everyday but long for warm hugs, we have many blessings already yet we're dissatisfied, we're at home but often frightened. All of this takes us back to the question, what is a home? Since many of us are unable to find these valuables at home, we long for a home in the skies, youngsters dream of building a perfect home when they grow up but fail to do so and the next generation end up dreaming for another home. It's almost like a generational thing - 'dissatisfaction'. If it's not doing and giving what it's supposed to, where have we disobeyed the Creator's ordained nature? Where have we lost our home?

Dwelling physically together but with distanced hearts, aches the heart of our Creator. He weeps over His children who focus testimony on Earth, but grieve HolySpirit and lose testimony in Heaven. Oh! He grieves unable to take sides and neglect the other within the house. The Lord grieves when the enemy wins by igniting a spark of argument on dry grass. How dry are our homes! even while having Living waters inside of us. We're so easily catching fires and burning homes. The Creator is grieving for His children as they dwell together but not in 'Unity'.

Our families have hierarchy in roles, ordained by God for the sake of maintaining love, harmony and other invisible valuables. And not for the sake of dictating authorities, taking advantage and oppressing the weak. The head of the family has right over the family for the sake of good only, not for the bad motives. The weaker and younger members of the family are dependant on the stronger and older members, not to be inferior and neglected. If we observe slave-master scenarios in a family, then it's no longer a home, it is doomed, nothing good can come out of it and there's no point of displaying to public as 'white-washed tombs'.

We often focus on the roles of each family members and limit their responsibilities, "he/she is only supposed to this!" Really? Or should it be, "If any of the two falls, the other must pitch in?"[Ecclesiastes 4:9]. Let us reflect on few things, to begin with, here are few questions: Is love supposed to be two-sided or one? Is kindness and soft-speech supposed to be two-sided or one? Is understanding supposed to mutual or one-way? Is help supposed to be extended one-way or two? Is wisdom granted or obtained based on gender and age or based on experience and character? Are men always wise? Are senior citizens always correct? Are young generation always forward? Are girls always weak? Why do we allow someone outside of our home dictate the course of our own home? Why does your colleague's opinion matter about your own children? Why should our relatives always have a say over our personal decisions? Is following the dead ancestor's created cultures and traditions more important than living peacefully with the family which is alive and here today?

Is it really necessary to please everyone around you while suffering behind four walls?

Some 'so called' religious people often quote scriptures to continue their dictatorship, as if God supports their abusive and nosy behaviour. Do you not realise the consequences and punishment of bad behaviour? Does God see your hierarchical role in family and let you go? Or is He zealous that you're hurting His precious creation? The fruit of HolySpirit - love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control [Galatians 5:22-23] are not only meant for the weak and servants, to express towards their masters and head of the family. It is asked of the leaders even more, infact to be an example. You don't win when your family members tremble at your voice, your true victory is in winning their hearts.

Leadership comes with responsibility and sacrifice, not privileges. Jesus offered more than demanding, - never demanded anyone to die in submission to Him but rather offered himself to serve, even sacrificed His own life for the sake of love. The Father God, Jesus and HolySpirit are perfect epitome of what love, harmony, mutual respect and honour looks like and should be. If not here on Earth, we shall surely rest peacefully in our Eternal home, but it's never too late to mend our families and obey the Creator's order to enjoy love and peace even here on Earth. Lest we give place for the enemy and lose our secured place in Eternal home!

For it is written:

How good and pleasant it is, when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. [Psalm 133]