Building a Home in Heaven

We just bought our first house.  It was really important to me that our new house felt like a home.  I spent hours in Home Depot, Lowes, Sears, and JCPenny trying to find the right curtains.  Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Hobby Lobby had to have the picture frames, paintings, and candles I was looking for…if only I looked hard enough, I’d find them.  We bought new couches and a buffet to hold all of our dishes.  There’re still things I’d like to do at the house, but at least it feels like home now.

I spent a ton of time making my house feel like a home, but when I think about it, I feel somewhat guilty.  It is good to have a nice, comfortable place to live for my husband and me, but I wonder, do I spend this much time making my “eternal” house feel like a home?

If I answer truthfully, no I don’t.  I imagine a home with God is one where we know each other well.  God knows me well, but how well do I really know Him?  How much time do I spend getting to know Him through prayer or studying the Bible?  I have good intentions, wanting to know God and the Bible better and even doing a good job at it for a while, but I always seem to get sidetracked.

This year, I want to spend more time building my home with God, because as the cross-stitched picture that my mom gave me says, “A home is just a house…without God.”

“…I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…” Philippians 3:8