Our house for sale.

 

    As I asked the question, “What excuse is good enough?”  Probably, the largest hurdle was my house. Is my house worth not fulfilling the calling of God in my life? Because honestly, my house payment is the largest payment I have. Which means that it is the bulk of the reason why I have to work so many hours for and in the world.

 

    Our house payment is approximately $700. It’s not a big house by any means, but it is/was our’s. My thinking is this, “If I can reduce my need for income, I can reduce the time required to work for and in the world, which means I can in turn use that time to work for the Lord instead.”

 

“So no one can become my disciple without giving up everything for me.”
Luke 14:33

 

    Am I willing to give up my house to follow after Jesus? That’s a big one. Our house is our security, our “American Dream”. Surely Jesus wouldn’t want us to give up our house…after all, where would we live, how would we live?

 

"Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal."
Matt 6:19

 

    Remember Katrina? How many people stored up their treasures in their homes. How many hours were spent storing up treasures on earth, all to have them be swept away with water? What good is the American Dream if it can’t stand the oncoming floods? (Luke 6:49)

 

    As Joeleen and I talked about this she said, “Is this it? Is this what people live their whole lives for?” When talking about the house and what it meant to us. In reality, when we the Lord takes the scales from our eyes, it’s pretty sad that we build our foundation on this quasi-security the world offers and tries to get you to believe that it’s the truth.

 

    In October of 2005 when we started to discover this walk with the Lord I remember telling Joeleen that she had to look at everything in this house and count it dead and forsaken for the cause of following Jesus. I told her to look at everything, INCLUDING the house and say “this will not get in the way of me serving God.” At first she was a little reluctant. Thinking I shouldn’t jump the gun so soon. But I told her that we had to count the cost. We had to literally sit down and count the cost of following Jesus. And to think it doesn’t cost you is foolish, it costs you EVERYTHING. Jesus told us to consider these costs before taking the steps to follow Him:

 

"But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh at you! They would say, `There’s the person who started that building and ran out of money before it was finished!’
Luke 14:28-30

 

    We talked about it, took some serious consideration (and not just with the house, but with our very lives) and decided we would pay it. This house would not get in our way of serving our Father in heaven. We will gladly lay it down as an expense for the Kingdom’s sake.

 

    We put it up for sale in March 2006 (1 month after I quite my secular job). Not knowing where we were going to live. We didn’t know if we’d live in an apartment, mobile home, R.V . or what! But we knew we had to do it. So we did.

 

    We listed it with a realtor and for some reason it didn’t sell. It’s an odd thing because I really thought the Lord would jump on it and get us out ASAP. But apparently He has other plans. Our contract with the Realtor expired and we are now trying to FSBO it after lowering the price. A lot of things have happened since we’ve put the home up for sale, the plans are starting to come together a little more clearly about what we are to do so we’re just trusting in the Lord and His timing for it all. It’s funny because what once was something we held on to so tightly, we now wish it would just go away so we can move on!

 

As they were walking along someone said to Jesus, "I will follow you no matter where you go." But Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but I, the Son of Man, have no home of my own, not even a place to lay my head."
Luke 9:57-58
    

What To Take From This: Your house or living arrangements aren’t an excuse for not serving the Lord with your entire life. You will more than likely have to make a drastic change in how/where you live if you are going to follow after Christ completely. We might as well accept that right now. Remember, count the cost first. Are you willing to live different than your friends and family? Are you ready for the criticism? But let’s not forget the promises of Matthew 19:29 & Mark 10:29 in the process.
    For those husbands our there that are thinking about putting that sign in the yard tomorrow, don’t you dare do anything without your wife’s support and consent. You will have a very hard time succeeding in the gospel if you have a contentious wife that doesn’t support you. If your wife is not on board. Take the time and things necessary to help her along. It may take 6 months, it may take 6 years, but take the time to be a good husband and love her and help build security in her so that she doesn’t need to put all of her trust and security into a home. The first thing the Lord taught me when I began this quest was how to be a good husband. We must learn to love our wives like Christ loved the church. Seek the Lord to help you become a husband in His image, you won’t regret it one bit.