It seems that in every community in our part of the world you can see large, expensive homes being constructed. Perhaps these are “dream homes” people have always wanted; others are built by surprisingly younger people who want the best thing going. Some are never completed because of high costs. Sometimes a big house never becomes a real home.

Just outside Lexington, Kentucky, you can see a huge castle-like structure on a hill. You have to look quick because the high-speed road below takes you by quickly. It was built by a real estate broker and his wife who admired the castles and architectural styles they had seen on a trip to Germany. For their house, they bought 50 acres of land and began construction in 1969. They wanted seven bedrooms, fifteen bathrooms, a tennis court, and a fountain in the courtyard. But their marriage fell apart and they divorced in 1974, leaving their dream home unfinished. Later in was sold and renovated but destroyed by an electrical fire. It has been rebuilt and expanded, operating as a tourist inn. The original owners had a great house, but they didn’t make it their home. It’s a tragic story.

It’s very easy to make this mistake today. In our materialistic society people want the best and will go to any length to get it, but fail to work just as hard to build their marriage and create a great home. A couple can actually live in a small house, condo or apartment and make it a wonderful place where love, consideration, forgiveness, and kindness flourish. We’re told in 1 Cor.13:4-5 that “Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered.” Concentrating on these important things, not just on the physical features of your house, can produce a great home.

How about yours? Do you have a home, or just a house?

– Tim Johnson