Jesus’ well known words in Matthew 8:20 reveal a huge spiritual principle for life: if you follow Christ you will never be able to settle down or settle in. Foxes find a hole and climb in; birds build a nest and move in; Christians find a Master and keep following.
Jesus is not forbidding home-buying here; he’s forbidding comfortability and complacency. He’s forbidding anything like an attitude that makes this world our home, and this present situation (whatever it is and however good it may be in life or home or ministry) where we settle.
The longer I live the more I dread one great evil: complacency. I live with a personal and pastoral fear of a Christian nesting instinct. I consider anything like a “this is good enough, let’s be content to settle where we are at” mindset to be the first sign of impending death.
Have you served Christ? Then serve him more.
Have you grown in holiness? The press further up and further in.
Have you sought and found sinners? The keep seeking and finding.
Have you served your church? Then serve her even more and better.
Have you read the Bible? Then read it again…and again.
Have you killed certain sins? Then root out and kill some more.
Have you had ambition for God? Then feed it and fuel it and live it even more.
Have you lived long enough to retire? Then get ready to run the home stretch with grace and strength.
Have you helped your church grow and bear fruit? The labor all the harder that her growth and fruit may abound.
Whatever you do, don’t settle, don’t nest, don’t stop. Keep following on behind the Master!
And oh, by the way, Jesus is preparing a place for you to settle down. It will be worth it all, believe me. Until then let’s keep moving.
this is not our home cant wait till that day when we get our home built by the True carpenter