Monday, June 15, 2009, 10:00 p.m. – This song is in my head:
Welcome Home / Shaun Groves
Take, me, make me
All You want me to be
That's all I'm asking, all I'm asking
Welcome to this heart of mine
I've buried under prideful vines
Grown to hide the mess I've made
Inside of me
Come decorate, Lord
Open up the creaking door
And walk upon the dusty floor
Scrape away the guilty stains
Until no sin or shame remain
Spread Your love upon the walls
And occupy the empty halls
Until the man I am has faded
No more doors are barricaded
Come inside this heart of mine
It's not my own
Make it home
Come and take this heart and make it
All Your own
Welcome home
Take a seat, pull up a chair
Forgive me for the disrepair
And the souvenirs from floor to ceiling
Gathered on my search for meaning
Every closet's filled with clutter
Messes yet to be discovered
I'm overwhelmed, I understand
I can't make this place all that You can
I took the space that You placed in me
Redecorated in shades of greed
And I made sure every door stayed locked
Every window blocked, and still You knocked
Take me, make me
All You want me to be
That's all I'm asking, all I'm asking
The last three lines of this song are the prayer of my heart that God would take me, make me all that He wants me to be, that’s all I’m asking, all I’m asking. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Isaiah 11:
My Understanding: The message in this song is basically about someone who has come to a place of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ; who is acknowledging before Almighty God where he had been spiritually, but with a request now for God to come inside and to take complete control. He is inviting the Lord Jesus to come into his heart and to cleanse him of all his sin – pride, greed, complacency, guilt, closed doors to God’s voice, disrepair, idols, etc. He now asks the Lord Jesus to redecorate his heart, to open up his “creaking door”, “to scrape away the guilty stains until no sin or shame remain… until the man he was has faded, no more doors barricaded” (keeping God out). He is acknowledging, too, before God that his life is not his own, and he is asking God to make it all HIS own – welcome home!
Take me, make me
All You want me to be
That's all I'm asking, all I'm asking
Then, in Isaiah 11 we learn about a “shoot” that will come up out of the stump of Jesse – that shoot is Jesus Christ, our Messiah. He came to earth as a baby, he grew to be an adult, he had an earthly ministry and then he died on the cross for our sins so that we could receive salvation. He will come again to judge the people of the earth in righteousness. Then, he will set up his kingdom on the earth during the Millennium and He will reign victoriously. Then, there will be peace on the earth.
In that day the nations will rally to Jesus. The Lord will reach out a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people (from the tribulation period). The Lord will gather the scattered exiles of his people from the four quarters of the earth. And, the Lord will make a highway for the remnant of his people as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt.
The commentators I read suggest that this is a physical highway, which it may be, but I see something more here. I see a spiritual highway – “a principal road; a direct route or course” (Encarta Dictionary). And, “Holy way; the path of salvation and life; truth; Christ; the Gospel’s call; restoration of Israel” – Susan N. Riddle. I believe the “highway” is this path of salvation so that God’s people can return to Him. The song writer used the terms “Welcome home” when speaking of inviting Jesus to live in and to take control of his heart. I believe the “Welcome home” here is that God is welcoming us into His eternal kingdom – for those who have returned to Him.
