This translates from Spanish to my house is your house or 當自己屋企得喇 (treat yourself at home OK). It means … well exactly what it says; you are most welcome and consider my house now as your own. In other words, you are no longer a guest but a member of the household, so go grab yourself something from the fridge.
The first time I really encountered the true meaning of this phrase was when my husband and I were travelling through the US. We were visiting some churches and one of the members offered to drive us around that area of the Bible Belt. One day, he took us to visit a couple he knew. As we arrived at their home, he casually knocked on the door as he opened it, not waiting for an invitation or greeting party. He shouted hello a couple of times before realising that the owners were not home. Yes, their front door was unlocked, because you can do that in the South.
Anyway, he took us through to the kitchen where he proceeded to open the fridge and offer us beverages – or pop as the Americans say. We were stunned! You see, coming from a culture where manners and politeness are the cornerstones of our character, one does not simply walk into Mordor… or sorry, uninvited into someone’s home and then go ahead and help yourself to a drink! That’s just rude!
Feeling very uncomfortable, we questioned the guy if this was acceptable and he just yeahed us and then invited us to cool off in the pool. That was a transformative experience for us, because it showed us what it meant to be a son (yes, and daughter, but we are talking about a guy here) of the house.
All of us have heard this analogy many times in church so I don’t have to state the obvious spiritual significance of this again. However, the other day I was reading a book and the author was using this analogy a bit differently, which really got me thinking. He said there is no cancer in heaven, right? and then went on with his subject, but my thoughts followed a different path. If there is no cancer – for example – in heaven, meaning there is no cancer in God’s house, then there should not be any cancer in us, because we are the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Wow! Think about it: we are the temple and His Spirit – God Himself resides in us, so there should be no cancer, because if it’s not in His house it should not be in our house (run-on sentence, I know).
Both as individuals and corporately as a church, we have the Spirit of God living in us, so as a son and daughter in the house, it is part of our inheritance as inhabitants of God, to live in health and wholeness, aka shalom. PTL, because of our imputed righteousness, we can walk into our Father’s house and take hold of health and wellness which is ours in heaven and here in our earthly bodies. We can have that boldness and confidence to be a son and daughter in the house and to appropriate all that is of that house.
What else can we think of that is in the Father’s house that should – and can – be in our ‘house’? Joy, peace, freedom, no guilt, provisions come to mind. What would life be like if we truly lived from our spirit and by the saying, “As it is in heaven…”?
SHALL WE FIND OUT!?
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
1 Corinthians Chapter 15