{Ruth, on the left, with her sister and a friend, celebrating Hanukkah and Christmas on December 25th, 2024}
On the weekends, I can often be heard saying, “I need to put my house back together.” That can be what housekeeping feels like, right? Putting all the things that are out of place back where they belong and making what has become disorderly orderly again. To many, this aspect of taking care of a home might feel monotonous or mundane, but I actually enjoy it. I like returning my home to its intended state and putting everything back in its place. It is one of the many ways that we can experience and reflect God in our homemaking. Thinking about theology in my homemaking has made a big impact on me.
We love and serve a God of order. 1 Corinthians 14:33 says that “God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (NIV). When we take time to put our homes in order, we are reflecting God’s actions of making order out of chaos. During the seven days of creation, God created order and beauty out of nothing. And while he created beauty and order, he made a home for his creations to dwell. When God created Adam, he placed him in the garden to “work it and keep it” (Gen. 2:15). Stewarding the home that God provided was Adam’s (and eventually Eve’s) first job.
It’s our job as well. Homemaking is, in its simplest terms, a form of stewardship. It is taking the spaces we dwell in and the stuff that we have, and caring for them well. Whether you live in a home with others or not, we are each responsible for our home in some way. How we care for and use our homes is a reflection of how we view them. All that we have comes from the Lord, and the practical measures we must take to maintain our homes demonstrate gratitude to God for giving them to us.
Additionally, home is one of the first places we get to experience who God is. The Garden of Eden was the first home that Adam and Eve had, and it was there that they first experienced walking with God. Our homes can be one of the main places where we can taste and see that God is good. Our home is where we “grow up” and where we work out life. Homemaking gives us the opportunity to infuse the love and character of God into all that we do—for ourselves, for those who live with us, and for those who come to visit.
My home is a regular reminder of God’s provision for me. I want to make sure that I thank him and take good care of it. And, as I do so, I want others to experience God, too. Each time I fold and put away a jumble of clean laundry, I have the opportunity to emulate a God who creates order. When I set the table for friends coming over for dinner, I’m inviting them to experience God’s gifts and provision with me.
Our work at home will never be finished. We will be putting our house back together many more times. God is always at work in our homes, and we always have the opportunity to join him.
