"Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!" (2 Sm 7:2)
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Cassius the Zealot entered the monastery because he wanted to atone for the sins of men. As a monk, he practiced all sorts of rigorous penances and sacrifices for this single purpose.
"Lord," he often prayed, "I offer my life for the atonement of the sins of the world."
One night, Cassius had a dream. He saw himself in a certain village where all the houses were dilapidated. Because of his zeal and kindness, Cassius started to rebuild one house after the other with great devotion. After he had rebuilt all the houses, Cassius saw our Lord approach him and say, "Cassius, I mean to stay in your house."
From afar, Cassius pointed to his house while he walked with our Lord. "Master," he said, "that is my house."
The Lord stopped when he saw how ugly the house of Cassius was. "I cannot stay in such a house," the Lord told him. "Your house is too ugly."
"But my Lord," Cassius defended himself, "I was not able to rebuild my house because I spent all my time rebuilding other houses"
The Lord said to Cassius, "Before you build my dwelling in other men’s hearts, be sure that I have a proper dwelling in yours."
With that, the Lord disappeared. [1]
It is the day before Christmas and the last day of Advent. Everyone has been busy with various arrangements: cleaning our homes and decorating them with the usual Christmas trimmings. The interiors and exteriors are likely glittering with multi-colored lights. Almost certainly, households are occupied with cooking preparations and still more cooking activity for the Christmas Day meals. There are the last minute shopping sprees and gift-wrappings to be completed. It surely is a hectic day.
As we await tomorrow’s birthday celebration of our Savior, how did we personally prepare an appropriate dwelling place for Him? Are we ready to welcome Him and to offer Him a place to reside within our hearts?
Yesterday’s Bible Sharing urged us to allow the Holy Spirit to freely work in our lives. This is the only way we can be significantly aided in spiritually giving birth to Jesus and building a permanent place for Him to stay.
As we ought to understand, this Christmas season is not the only time for us to construct an abode for our Lord in the core of our being. It is however, a good starting point for those who have not yet done so. Of course, we can never expect to do it on our own. We need the assistance of God’s Spirit to build and to restore a house for Him.
As the above anecdote illustrates for us, we need to make sure Christ has a proper dwelling place within us, before even attempting to erect one in other people’s hearts.
"Lord," he often prayed, "I offer my life for the atonement of the sins of the world."
One night, Cassius had a dream. He saw himself in a certain village where all the houses were dilapidated. Because of his zeal and kindness, Cassius started to rebuild one house after the other with great devotion. After he had rebuilt all the houses, Cassius saw our Lord approach him and say, "Cassius, I mean to stay in your house."
From afar, Cassius pointed to his house while he walked with our Lord. "Master," he said, "that is my house."
The Lord stopped when he saw how ugly the house of Cassius was. "I cannot stay in such a house," the Lord told him. "Your house is too ugly."
"But my Lord," Cassius defended himself, "I was not able to rebuild my house because I spent all my time rebuilding other houses"
The Lord said to Cassius, "Before you build my dwelling in other men’s hearts, be sure that I have a proper dwelling in yours."
With that, the Lord disappeared. [1]
It is the day before Christmas and the last day of Advent. Everyone has been busy with various arrangements: cleaning our homes and decorating them with the usual Christmas trimmings. The interiors and exteriors are likely glittering with multi-colored lights. Almost certainly, households are occupied with cooking preparations and still more cooking activity for the Christmas Day meals. There are the last minute shopping sprees and gift-wrappings to be completed. It surely is a hectic day.
As we await tomorrow’s birthday celebration of our Savior, how did we personally prepare an appropriate dwelling place for Him? Are we ready to welcome Him and to offer Him a place to reside within our hearts?
Yesterday’s Bible Sharing urged us to allow the Holy Spirit to freely work in our lives. This is the only way we can be significantly aided in spiritually giving birth to Jesus and building a permanent place for Him to stay.
As we ought to understand, this Christmas season is not the only time for us to construct an abode for our Lord in the core of our being. It is however, a good starting point for those who have not yet done so. Of course, we can never expect to do it on our own. We need the assistance of God’s Spirit to build and to restore a house for Him.
As the above anecdote illustrates for us, we need to make sure Christ has a proper dwelling place within us, before even attempting to erect one in other people’s hearts.
End Notes for this Bible Sharing
[1] "Parcels of Truth," An Anthology of Anecdotes by Bro. Andrew Maria, MMHC, "Your Own House first," pp. 46-47, St. Paul Publications, Makati, Philippines, 1992.
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