As a Christian who walks with God, did you know that your homemaking is spiritual? Yes, I mean the day to day work of crafting the morning pot of oatmeal for your children, all the way down to scrubbing the scum off of the shower wall. When done in faith, these habits and rhythms are deeply spiritual. These are the good works that God prepared for you to walk in (Ephesians 2:10). I've not always seen it this way, however.

I became a Christian in my mid 20's, and was both deeply passionate and had a very tender conscience. For many years, my natural inclination was to think that God was pleased with me when communing with Him in my "prayer closet", but was not happily with me in my day-to-day work as a nurse or a student. I carried an ever-present, subliminal guilt for the daily necessity of going out into the world to do things that had nothing to do with the bible. Rather than peacefully going about my day, knowing that God was pleased with me in Christ, I fought to make it more "spiritual" by listening to hymns or finding time to steal away to read my bible.

Needless to say, the time demands of motherhood and homemaking floored me. The one hour inductive bible study with my candle lit and (hot) coffee in hand did not exist anymore. The deep fatigue made it difficult to pray at times. My children's sin rubbed against my own flesh, and I suddenly became more sinful (AKA what was always there came out under more pressure). I felt deeply guilty for this.

At the time, I was completely missing out on a few very important (and freeing) truths:

Our bodily work is an act of spiritual worship.

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." -Romans 12:1

This is such an important truth. God made us with a physical body, and said in the beginning (even before sin, when things were perfectly ideal) that this was good. And since we are made in His image, we are also spiritual beings. We are body and spirit, by God's design.

So as you wipe your 2 year old's nose (again), change the sheets on the beds, or care for your sick husband, these physical acts done well and as unto the Lord very much count as spiritual worship. And this pleases God. So give yourself to your good work with freedom, vigor, and joy- each cup of cold water given to one of these little ones in His name means more treasures in heaven for you.

We were created to walk in good works.

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." -Ephesians 2:10

As homemakers, it is important to understand how passages like this reach off of the page and touch the very things that we do day in and day out. I want to help us see the significance of the work that we do in our homes– because it is holy work (even if we are not sitting down actively reading God's word in a given moment).

Jesus Christ died for us so that we could be brought in as adopted sons and daughters. We are His handiwork, and we were created to DO good handiwork. Works that He prepared for us to walk in. What kinds of works does this include? Some examples that apply to us:

• Baking bread

• Stripping towels

• Reading a book to our child, snuggled on the couch

• Helping an elderly spouse or parent change their clothes

• Preparing a meal for a new mom

• Figuring out the best way to organize a school cabinet

• Putting thought and effort into building habits that help us steward the home well and with intentionality

• And the list goes on…

Christ is the source of our life and fruit.

John 15: 4-5 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

While our works, done well and in faith, are God-honoring and pleasing to the Lord, I do want to always bring it back to our source. We want our homes and families to be fruitful, for the kingdom and for God's glory. And the only way for us to be fruitful (not only productive, but to produce godly fruit) is to abide in Christ. And yes, that does mean that it is important to prioritize prayer, God's word, etc. because HE is the source of our very life- even as most of this life is spent doing things with our hands.

And so we must remain in the Vine, if we are to bear God-honoring and eternally significant fruit. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. Or, to paint this positively, the promise here goes the other way– when we abide in Christ we WILL bear fruit, even as we tend to the rhythms and needs of a very physical home, with very physical (and spiritual) people who inhabit it.

So be encouraged, my friend. The effort that you put into building a fruitful, lifegiving home in Christ's name is not in vain. May the Lord build your house, and multiply the fruit of your hands.

If you want to hear Jeremy and I talk about this more, we do a deeper dive into this on one of our podcast episodes: Why does Ordinary Life Feel Unspiritual? The Ancient Lie Behind It
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