Home part 2
Home is where your heart is. And when you're home, you know there's nowhere else you'd rather be. Just like the Love Slave in Deuteronomy chapter 15. He was given his freedom, but he knew just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you HAVE to. And then he had his ear nailed to the door. And this is what I want to Rant about today. Because it's pretty awesome. So first lets look at John 10:7, "Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep." Got it? Jesus is the door. (I know, I know, it's all Jesus. It's all love. But stick with me.) Now connect that to John 13:24-25, "Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?" Now, listen, I understand that John--the disciple that Jesus loved, the one asking the question--was literally asking about who the traitor would be. But, as usual, the Scripture is like an onion. There are layers. So let's peel it back a little bit and we'll see that John--the disciple who followed Jesus all the way to the cross and then wrote the book of Revelation, which I believe is an in depth look AT the cross--nailed his ear to the door. He laid his head on Jesus' breast. And guess what happened when he did that; He heard the heartbeat of God. That's why, in my opinion, John was such a great Revelator. Why all of his letters to the churches were all about love. That's what happens to us when we make the decision to stay in our master's house. (And I prefer the picture of our FATHER'S house, because I think if we see God as our boss we'll continue to operate under the mindset of someone trying to earn something, which is not right... but we'll get to the tomorrow.) My grandma always talks about baptism as entering into the covenant. And I like that. Because when God MADE the covenant, way back in the time of Abraham, He made it between Himself... and Himself. Abraham was asleep at the time--in a posture of rest. God did all the work. And He made the covenant an everlasting covenant. Because, since He's holding up both ends of it, in order for it to fail HE would have to fail. The point being... the truth is the truth no matter what. But unless you know it and believe it the truth doesn't help you out a whole ton. It's the truth you KNOW that sets you free and makes you free. It's the covenant you've entered into that you can enjoy the benefits of. Ok. I said all of that to say this: nailing your ear to the door--or being baptized, as it were--is a declaration of where you stand. Who your master is. Back in those days when someone bought a slave they would baptize them in their name. That marked the slave. It let everyone know who he belonged to. So if you mark yourself... that's a powerful thing. If you nail your ear to the door--Jesus' breast--you can hear the heartbeat of God. You can literally fill yourself with what you've been filled with, so that it overflows out of you. Naturally. So that what you have becomes who you are. Your true identity shines forth. You don't just have love, but because you are loved... you are love! That's where your heart is. That's where your home is!