There's No Place Like Home

By Devin Dummel

Ever since Dorothy uttered these iconic words, “There’s no place like home”, many have begun to understand the influence of the home.  There is something special about the home, about our family dynamics and the impact they can make in the life of each child.  We believe that no one has more potential to influence a child than their parents. 

While we love spending time with kids and students of all ages, the reality is we don’t get a large quantity of time to make an impact.  We may get somewhere between 40-60 hours a year with your child.  But parents average 3,000 hours a year to influence their children.  The truth is what happens in those 3,000 hours matters a great deal.  So what you do this week matters and what happens at home matters.  There truly is no place like home.

Over the next few weeks we are going to look at some of the key qualities of an influential home.  Just as you would look for certain things when buying a new home or redecorating your current home, we need to keep our eyes focused on the spiritual qualities that we are looking for and want to develop in our home.

The first place we will start is with the quality of love.  Love is the backbone to the home.  It is one of the main purposes of the family, and God designed the family to express his love for every child – from generation to generation.  Too often we forget that truth, and while we understand that families should “love” each other, we have embraced defining love in our own familial terms.  What we must refocus on is God’s love and how we can demonstrate that as a family.

Ephesians 5:1-2 says,

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice.”

Notice how the Apostle Paul describes how we are to follow God – through sacrificial love.  We are called to love “just as Christ loved us”.  It means that we must lay down our own desires and consistently put others first.  This is part of our offering to God.  Unfortunately, we don’t always show this type of love at home.

If you and your home are one of the greatest influences in the life of your child, then right now you are making history.  You are molding and shaping your child for the next generation.  What you do on a day to day basis, how you choose to model your life, and what type of love you choose to demonstrate at home have an enormous impact.  The reality is when we shape our homes we are not just setting a course for our spiritual future.  We are plotting a spiritual path for our children.

Paul goes on to describe what this self-sacrificing love looks like:  “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.  Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place … for this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person … has any inheritance in the kingdom of God.”

This week, we challenge you to remember that, there is no place like home.  The example you set, in how you love your family will leave a lasting mark.  You have the choice on if you will demonstrate your own version of love, or if you will follow God’s example through consistent and intentional moments of sacrificial love.  Which path are you charting for your children?  Are you leading them toward the Kingdom of God? 

It’s our hope and goal to come alongside you and help you leverage all the influence your home has, pointing your children and others toward the Kingdom of God.  Because someday that will be our forever home … and there is no place like home.