Is Christ Sitting On Your Wingback Chair?

“Shhhh! Walk on your tiptoes. You’ll wake them up. What are you looking for?”

“It’s probably down in the basement. You’ll have to wait and ask them. You can’t just go snooping around.”

Sounds like you’re an overnight guest somewhere – not a permanent resident. There is a difference.

“Welcome! Just come in and make yourself right at home.” You’re ushered into the living room and pointed to the fancy wingback chair. You sit ‘prim and proper’ turning the pages of the colorful coffee table book. It’s there to entertain you. Not wanting to be conspicuously nosey, you sneak a few glances at the wall pictures. Quietly you wait, politely answering occasional questions from the kitchen. And then you get the call to the Dining Room. Pleasantly smiling, you stand near the table waiting to be seated. Then gracefully you take your seat waiting with hands folded for further instructions.

There’s no question about your being there; the question is: do you feel at home?

In Ephesians 3, the Apostle Paul uses vivid imagery to describe Christ’s place and prominence in our lives. His prayer for the Christians in Ephesus goes like this:

These believers already had Christ in their lives. Paul called them ‘saints’ in Ephesians 1:1. The moment you trusted Christ, He came in to stay forever. (John 14:20, Romans 8:9, 2Corinthians 13:5) But Paul isn’t talking about the ‘presence’ of Christ in our lives; he’s going much deeper than that! It’s one thing for Him to be inside, but does He feel ‘at home’ inside? That’s the thought behind Christ ‘dwelling’ in our hearts. Feeling at home, relaxed and fully accepted in our hearts.

Do I keep Christ confined to certain rooms in my life? Oh yes, I may have a swanky guest bedroom, with rich walnut furniture and an adjoining marbled bathroom at the other end of my house where all is quiet and private. “Guests prefer that,” I say. But so do I! Sometimes we’re more concerned about their intrusion into our personal space then ours into theirs.

Do you keep Christ entertained with a coffee table book as He sits on the wingback chair in the living room of your life? Or is He free to roam the hallways and visit all the other rooms in your life? Can He sit on any chair – or just that wingback chair? Can He look at anything – or should He only look at the one book? Can you completely relax as He sits at your computer and clicks on the History tab of sites visited? Can you relax as He stands over your shoulder and watches the conversation unfold as you talk to people on line? Or would that make you nervous or be a bit restrictive? Are there some rooms in your life, you would rather keep closed to visitors – especially Him?

Paul is writing to the believers about living a powerful and victorious Christian life. He’s just not talking about the ‘presence’ of Christ in our lives; He’s talking about the ‘prominence’ of Christ in our lives. In fact, He’s talking about the ‘preeminence’ of Christ in our lives. If I want to experience the power and riches of Christ in all its fullness, I must allow Him to get up off the wingback chair and give Him full access anytime to every room in my life.

That’s what He wants. That’s what He deserves.