A Vacant House

Growing up on various Air Force bases around the country we got used to a number of unusual things. Planes taking off and landing right overhead, monthly inspections of our house and lawn, no backyard fences, the constant presence of military police and the frequent packing and unpacking when dad’s orders changed. As we played in the neighborhood, it was common to discover a vacant house or two.

You could tell it was a vacant house by the lack of curtains in the windows, no lights on at night, garbage cans that were unused during the week and a feeling of emptiness as you walked through the yard or happened to be hiding around it during hide-n-seek. Since not all families had kids our age, these vacancies many times took us by surprise, but once we knew there was no one living there it was a great place to play and hide around. Likewise, we didn’t always know when someone moved in, since the moving van came and went while we were at school or the house might be on another block.

I remember being caught off guard once when, while I was hiding from my friends behind some bushes , I saw that the back window I was crouching under had a new curtain had been hung up. I could also hear the muffled sound of a TV. Realizing I had just lost a good hiding place, I quickly left and walked toward the front of the house toward the street, observing as I walked the moving boxes stacked on the carport and the lights in the kitchen, all indicating someone was living there.

Following Jesus and living for Him is not a simple matter of believing in Him and accepting what He says as true. When Jesus told His disciples of His plan for their post-resurrection relationship, He revealed the fact that He would live “in” them through the very real presence of the Holy Spirit. God would “abide” in us! Since that is the essence of our relationship with Him, it follows that there would be, should be, real tangible evidence that God is truly living in us. Change of priorities, new desire to learn His word, different behavior, joy and peace, etc., all of which clearly show that the Holy Spirit has taken up residence and we are no longer a vacant house, hopeless and empty.

When Jesus lives in us the world will know!

How exciting to be His people,

Pastor David Vanderpool