Here is the idea: if you have the ability, you should build/buy/rent a home with a spare bedroom(s) with the explicit purpose of using it for the Kingdom.

There are many ways we can use our house for the Kingdom. You can have people over for meals, host a small group, use it to bless your own family, etc. But I want to consider specifically how we can use our homes in providing housing for others.

No matter where you live, housing is expensive. When my wife and I were married, we were able to rent a one bedroom apartment that was nothing fancy but not awful for $650 a month. Today, those same apartments are now double that.

Jesus Cares How You Use Your House

Now, think of Jesus’ teaching to His disciples after they tell Him that they left everything to follow Him:

“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. (Mark 10:29-30)

Sometimes confused as being an explanation of the rewards of heaven, this passage clearly is teaching of earthly benefits of following Jesus (notice the “in this time” contrasted with the “in the age to come”). But it also isn’t promising us instant ease or prosperity (notice the “with persecutions”). So what is it promising?

It is promising that when we leave our homes and families for the sake of the gospel, we receive a “hundredfold now in this time” through God’s blessings shared in the church. It is amidst the family of God that we now have a new family of “brothers and sisters and mothers and children”—a hundredfold! But notice one aspect of that hundredfold blessing: houses

There will be Christians who, because of following Jesus, are going to be in need of housing. One way the church is to minister to one another is through opening our homes to each other. Now, consider that in light of these verses:

And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts. – Acts 2:44-46

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction. – James 1:27

But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. – 1 John 3:17-18

As for the rich in this present age…They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. – 1 Tim 6:17-19

Use Your Home to Fight Sin and Suffering

Think about the young couple dating or engaged in your church. They really would like to get married, but they cannot yet afford to move out of mom and dad’s. Yet, the longer they put off marriage, the more difficult remaining sexually pure becomes. An affordable (or free) place to live while they start out would help them avoid the stumbling block of pre-marital sex (1 Cor 7:36).

Think about the person laid off and now terrified about being evicted, unsure of where to go. Simply knowing that if worst comes to worse, they will have a warm place to sleep at night is a great relief from anxiety.

Think about the abused wife who needs a safe place that she and the kids can land if she works up the courage to leave. One factor that holds many abused spouses back from leaving is the lack of anywhere to go. How are they supposed to support themselves financially? The church must be ready to house and financially support those in need.

Think of the missionaries back on furlough in need of an inexpensive place to temporarily stay. Missionaries need seasons of rest for the longevity of their ministry, but struggling to find a free or inexpensive place to come home to for months can prevent them from taking the sabbaticals they need.

Or, more simply, think of the single man or woman in your church who is living alone and living in loneliness. Perhaps sins of pornography, drunkenness, laziness are more tempting while alone. Maybe despair and anxiety and boredom are more prominent. Simply living in community with other believers can serve as a stimulant against some of these sins and weights. Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us: “The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer,” (Life Together). It is not good for man to be alone.

What Should I Do?

If you have a spare bedroom(s) or mother-in-law suite or an attached apartment, commit to viewing it as a resource that God has given you for the sake of the Kingdom. Just like the practice of tithing leads us to view a portion of our money as not belonging to us, consider viewing a portion of your home as not belonging to you. To paraphrase Paul: You are not your own. You were bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your home.

Tell your elders at your church of your aspirations and to contact you if needs arise.

Pray for opportunities that are wise and safe for your family and living situation. If you are a single woman, housing a single man you do not know is probably unwise. Be willing to say no, but also don’t let discomfort alone hinder you. Your elders will prove to be a helpful resource in discerning what is wise.

Be prepared for the inconvenience and frustrations that come with housing other people.

And, if you have the resources and are looking to buy/build a home, consider buying a home that is larger than you need so that you have ample room to house and help others.

I’ll close with some words from C.S. Lewis on Christian charity that can easily be applied to the present topic:

I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charities expenditure excludes them.

Mere Christianity, “Social Morality”