A House Or A Home

Colossians 3:17-25

The large house down the block was a model home, open for inspection. Some of the neighborhood girls decided to take the tour. Back home, Sabrina told her mother all about it. “You ought to see the place!” she began excitedly. “It’s got four bedrooms and four baths. And you should see the living room! There’s a huge fireplace!” Sabrina paused. “It sure makes our house look like a dump.”

Mom looked up from her work. “A dump?” she repeated. “Well, then it’s a beautiful dump, as far as I’m concerned.” She smiled. “I think the place you just toured is even more different from ours than you realize. It’s a house, but our place is a home.”

“What’s the difference?” Sabrina asked.

“A house is a building,” explained Mom. “Maybe it has a lot of things people want and need; perhaps it has almost everything. But—”

“Oh, this one does,” Sabrina broke in. “It has everything!”

“No, I don’t think so,” her mother continued. “It doesn’t have a family with people who love one other. It’s an empty building, needing to be filled with people who want the best for one another. That’s what we have here.”

Sabrina thought about what her mother was saying. In their home, her parents showed lots of love and affection. Suddenly Sabrina began to realize how fortunate she was to live in a home—a Christian home. Maybe it wasn’t as big as the house down the block, but it was filled with love. That was much more important.

“Okay, you win,” said Sabrina. Then she grinned at her mother. “But see . . . if we lived in that big house, it would be a home too.” She smiled as she headed for her room. Yes, a “home” was a whole lot better than any “house.”

How about You?

Do you sometimes compare what you have with what other people have? Does it make you feel dissatisfied? jealous? unhappy? critical? Stop and thank God for your home, your parents, and your family. Ask him to help you do your part to make your house a home!

Memorize:

“There is treasure in the house of the godly.” Proverbs 15:6