When everything was settled, I said, "I hope you will stay and feel perfectly at home here."

And 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." And so I did.

Now in my house, the LIBRARY is very small and has very thick walls and 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 in the library. And His eyes gazed over all the things that were on the shelf. And I was a little embarrassed that there was so much trivia there. I wished that more scriptures and church books were really mine and on the shelf. And 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, so-to-speak, of the mind - a sort of control room for the whole house. It affects the lighting, the electricity, and everything else in the house.  

And then He said He would like to see the DINING ROOM, so 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. And I told Him I was 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." And then He offered me a taste of it; and it was delicious - and oh, the flavor of it. And 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. Now, I did have a workshop; it was down in the basement. And we went down and looked at the workbench and saw all the talents and 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.

And I said, "Well, if I weren't quite so busy, maybe I could do better. I know all the tools are here, but I'm awkward and clumsy, and I really don't know how to use most of them."

So 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."

And 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.

And 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."

And 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. And so 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 every day to do that; and I did at first, faithfully. But, then I got too busy and sometimes I would forget to meet in the morning. And sometimes I would forget to go 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?" And 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 the way I used Him. When things went well, I didn't really think we needed our chat as much as we did when things were bad. And so I decided that it had been a very one-sided relationship, and 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."

And 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 someone, especially a guest. And he said, "Look at who benefits from my projects." And then I really was ashamed because everything I did benefited me as well as others, and not Him personally. So I continued His work.

And then, one day, He said, "There is a peculiar odor in this house and it's coming from the locked closet. And 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 2 feet by 4 feet. The rest of my house is large enough and is perfectly presentable; so it shouldn't make any difference."

And 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. And 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 Him, "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."

And I gave Him the key, and He opened it. And then quickly and efficiently, He cleansed out those things that I wanted to pretend 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." And then He said, Why I see only a house that is totally acceptable to me." And then I knew why I loved Him so; and why, of all I knew, only He could love me enough to clean out my closet. And then He said, "You know, I've cleaned out many, 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, in 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?"

And 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 bcause 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 has 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.

He told me, as time went on, 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 all the neighbors. It sounded wonderful, and I look forward to it with eagerness.

And I looked back to long ago when I first invited Christ to come into the house of my heart as a guest, and I think about the many years it took to have the courage to give Him the deed to the house. I wonder why I had been so stingy and had reluctantly wanted to turn it over. Because He showered me with gifts and took care of all the remodeling - even though I am always the debtor.