Inviting the Savior into our lives 
One day when I really understood what Jesus Christ had done for me, I invited Him to come into the house of my heart. And, as soon as I invited Him, He came, without any hesitation. And, when He was there, He filled the house with joy. And, I wanted to run and tell all the neighbors about my guest and how wonderful it was to have Him there.
When everything was settled, I said, "I hope you will stay and feel perfectly at home here."
He said, "I'm sure I will, and now since we are new friends; why don't you show me around. I would like very much to see the library in the House of your heart."
So I did. Now in my house, the LIBRARY is filled with everything I have read. Books, magazines, news articles, everything I have seen, like TV shows, movies, plays; all the Sunday School lessons I have listened to, the sermons, the lecturers, they're all there in the library.
As His eyes gazed over all the things that were on the shelf, I was a little embarrassed that there was so much trivia there. I wished that more scriptures and church books were on the shelves. I suggested to Him that maybe I could stand a little bit of renovation in this room, and He agreed, that maybe we--together--could add more worthwhile things to the library.
You see, the library is a very important room because it's the study of the mind--a sort of control room for the whole house. It affects the lighting, the electricity, and everything else in the house.
Then He said He would like to see the DINING ROOM; and I took Him in. Now in my house, this is a very large room because this is the room of appetites and desires; and it was stacked with all kinds of boxes and things. I told Him I was always hungry, but I never seemed to be satisfied. And He told me that it was because I was eating the wrong things.
He said, "If you would diet as I do, you would never feel hunger; for I live on the word of the Lord, the Father." Then He offered me a taste of it; and it was delicious--and oh, the flavor of it. I agreed with Him that this alone satisfied, and I knew that I would spend less time in the dining room now that He was a guest in the house.
Next, He asked if He could see my WORKSHOP. I had a workshop down in the basement. We went down and looked at the workbench and saw all the talents and the skills that were there. He looked everything over and said that I had a lot of good equipment, but that I really hadn't used it to produce much. Oh, there were a few gadgets and trinkets and half finished projects, but nothing really of great value.
I said, "Well, if I wasn't quite so busy maybe I could do better. I know all the tools are there, but I'm awkward and clumsy, and I really don't know how to use them."
He said, "Would you like to be able to use the tools in your workshop?" And, I said, "Oh yes, would you help me?" And He said, "I was wondering if you would ask me."
So He stood behind me and put His great powerful hands over mine and guided them, and He showed me how to use the tools in the workshop. And, with His hands directing mine, I marveled at the works of art that came out.
Then I said, "Now that you have helped me, I am going to come into the workshop often, and this will be a fun room to come to. Will you always help me?" And He said, "Yes, if you invite me to, but I never come unless I am invited."
So we left the workshop and the next room we went into was the DRAWING ROOM.
Now, this was a small, quiet, peaceful place in my heart for deep thoughts and meditation, and He seemed pleased with it and comfortable there.
He said, "Let's meet here often, at least twice a day, and we can have long talks together, and you can tell me about all your activities and all your ambitions and all your problems -- and we'll talk it over together every day."
I thought that sounded wonderful. So, I made an appointment with Him everyday that I would do that; and I did at first, faithfully. But, then I got too busy, and sometimes I would forget to come in the morning. And, sometimes I would forget to come at night. And, sometimes days would go by, and we never had a talk at all.
Now, it wasn't that I didn't want to talk to Him, it was just that I was so busy and had a lot to do. Then, one day as I went to leave, I noticed Him standing in the doorway of. the drawing room. And, I said, "Have you been waiting there every morning for me?" He said, "Yes, we had an appointment, and you haven't been here for a long time." And I said, "You're a guest in my house, and I have neglected you; and I'm sorry."
I had called on Him when I was in need, to come and help me, and He always came, but that was about the way I used Him. When things went well, I didn' t really think we needed our chat as we did when things were bad.
I decided that it had been a very one-sided relationship. I also realized that He missed me. So, I said, "Maybe there's something I could do for you; you've done so much for me." He said, "Yes, there's a great deal you could do for me. I was wondering when you would want to help me."
"I have so many projects and so many things that need to be done. I could use a good friend like you. For one thing, I have no money in the world at all. I only have yours to use. Would you let me use some of yours? And there are people I just cannot see. I could send you and commission you to go and represent me. Would you do that?"
"Yes, of course," I replied. But then one day I got rebellious and I said, "You demand too much of me. Can't I have anything to myself. After all, I have things I want to spend my money for, and you're always there needing something."
Now that wasn' t a very nice way to treat a person, especially a guest. He said, "Look at my projects, and who benefits from them." Then I really was ashamed because everything I did benefited me as well as others and not Him personally. So I continued His work.
Then one day, He said, "There is a peculiar odor in this house, and it's coming from that locked closet. Although you've let me go into every room in the house, that one door has always been locked, and you've never let me in."
Now that made me mad! I had let Him into every room in my house; I ran and did His errands for Him; I let Him use my money, and now He wanted to look in my secret closet. So, I said, "I hold the key, and I will not let you in that closet. It's very small, only about 2 feet by 4 feet. The rest of my house is large enough and is perfectly presentable; so it shouldn't make any difference." He said, "I cannot stay in this house if you do not give me the key to the closet." And, so He left.
Oh, I was sad. Great despair and gloom and depression came over me. Because you see, once having had Him as a guest in my home, life was unbearable without Him. So I went and tearfully pleaded with and begged Him, "Please come back, and I will give you the key to the closet and I will withhold nothing from you--I cannot stand to live without you."
So I gave Him the key to my secret closet and He opened it. Then quickly and efficiently, He cleansed out those things that were dead and rotten that I wanted to feel were not there and wanted to ignore. He cleaned the whole closet out, fumigated it, painted it, and He made it perfectly acceptable.
Afterwards, I said, "I'm so ashamed that you know what was in my closet." He said, "Why I see only a house that is totally acceptable to me."
Then I knew why I loved Him so. And why, of all my big brothers, only this one could love me enough to clean out my closet.
He said, "You know, I've cleaned out so many closets, but it's a strange thing. I can never remember afterwards what was in them."
After a few moments, I said, "I get so tired of cleaning all the time, I go from one room to the other trying to keep up in the drawing room, the dining room, the workshop, and in the library, but I always seem to be behind. I was wondering if you could take over the whole house like you did the closet, and you could be the owner, and I would be the guest and sort of helper or servant. And we'll switch positions. Instead of me calling on you to help me, you can call on me to help you. Is it possible?"
He said, "Why yes, that's why I came the first time you invited me." So, I ran and got the deed to my house and I signed it over to Him, and I said, "It is yours, it belongs to you, and I withhold nothing from you."
After I gave Him the deed, He immediately started remodeling the house because He was not content to own a cottage. He was the architect, the planner, the builder, and told me eventually we would end up with a magnificent castle. It would take a while to build, but we would build it together.
So, He started the remodeling. He was the master of the house, and I was the servant, and I did whatever He bid. And, there were times when clouds came and gathered around the house, clouds of war, hate, and sin. And they beat on the house and demanded entry. But because He was the Lord of the house, it had a firm foundation and none of it was allowed to enter. Inside the house there was warmth, peace, and tranquility regardless of what was outside.
As time went on, He told me that He would move my house to another city. He would take care of all the arrangements, and I wouldn't even have to know the day it took place or when. He said that I would be in a city where He had the deed to all the houses and there would be no storms or darkness; and I would like the neighbors better. It sounded wonderful, and I looked forward to it with eagerness.
I looked back so long ago when I first invited Christ to come into the house of my heart as a guest, and thought about the many years it took to have the courage to give Him the deed to the house. I wondered why I had been so stingy and had reluctant to turn it over to Him because He showered me with gifts and took care of all the remodeling, and I was always the debtor.