House Blessing

Recently, I had the privilege of doing my first-ever house blessing. A family from church was moving into their house later that day, and they asked me to come and share a Word from the Bible and pray for their new home.

I shared a couple of Bible verses, encouraging them to be a house in service to the Lord (Joshua 24:15) while remembering that this is not their final home (Revelation 21:3).

Then we went from room to room, praying for the people, relationships, and works that would inhabit each room and that each would be a place of service and glory to God. I thought it was really cool.

The family also had a tradition where everyone in the house poured some milk into a pot, which sat on the hot plate, simmering until it boiled over.

I asked about the significance of this. I was told that they do this to remind themselves that they want this to be a home where God’s love overflows. This reminded me of a quote by Jonathan Edwards I once stumbled across (which I then quickly dug up on my phone and promptly paraphrased). In a sermon, Edwards stated:

There in heaven this fountain of love, this eternal three in one, is set open without any obstacle to hinder access to it. There this glorious God is manifested and shines forth in full glory, in beams of love; there the fountain overflows in streams and rivers of love and delight, enough for all to drink at, and to swim in, yea, so as to overflow the world as it were with a deluge of love.
The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards, 245.

The Triune God is a God of eternal love and glory (see John 17). When he created the world, he caused his love and glory to overflow into this new creation so that it might be on display.

Now, we get to drink up his glory, swim in his love, and be deluged by his delight.

Who wouldn’t want their new home to overflow with the presence of a God like that?