In My Father’s House
Sundays are important. For my entire life, I have been able to count on Sundays. I knew every Sunday morning and evening my parents would be taking me to worship. Over the years this meant different worship locations and sometimes a different drive to get there.
Once I got married, my wife also being a Christian, the only thing about Sundays that was primarily different was that by this time I was also given the duties of preaching. But we still drove to worship. And as the kids came along a new tradition was born…
I decided that on the way to worship we would sing a few songs of praise to God. I wanted my family to know that God is always good and that this Lord’s day was appointed by him for us to remember all he has done and continues to do for us. I have also always believed that it is helpful to sing on the way to worship to focus our minds and prepare our hearts for the rest of what we are going to offer to the Lord.
As the tradition continued it became customary for each family member to pick a verse or two of their favorite song or a song they felt like singing. But there was one song early on that became the standard that we sang nearly every Sunday. It was usually the first song we sang. The lyrics say it all:
Everything’s alright in my Father’s house, in my Father’s house, in my Father’s house; Everything’s alright in my Father’s house, where there’s joy, joy, joy.
Come and go with me to my Father’s house, to my Father’s house, to my Father’s house; Come and go with me to my Father’s house, where there’s joy, joy, joy.
Jesus is the way to my Father’s house, to my Father’s house, to my Father’s house; Jesus is the way to my Father’s house, where there’s joy, joy, joy.
With the passing of time, things get busier for growing families. For several years now two or three cars might be meeting at the building instead of us all riding together. Life seems to interrupt traditions. And we have not made the opportunities to sing as a family in the car on the way to the assembly to the same degree as we did when the kids were younger.
But this past Sunday morning was the final time in the course of the Tatum household that all five of us–Jeremiah, Amber, Luke, Daniel, and Lyssa–would meet with the church as a complete family unit. I made sure we all rode together. I had plans to sing our song one last time…
With tear-filled eyes we finished singing and I told my children what an honor it had been for us as parents to be given the opportunity to take them to worship every Sunday. God lent them to us so that we would give them back to him. He gave us the opportunity to share with them the greatest thing they will ever know or understand – his love, his sacrifice, and the beautiful kingdom he created for us.
I told my children that the words of the song were true. I wanted them to know that we won’t always be here. I wanted them to know that other things in life will fall apart sometimes and there would be challenges and disappointments along the way. But if they will stay in my Father’s house, everything really would turn out alright in the end.
It has been my sincerest wish that my children be raised in the church and never leave. I want them to know how to identify it, how to become a part of it, and how to conduct themselves properly within it. For whatever part I have failed in those areas I hope they have seen enough of it in others that they know all they need to know about the church so as to be faithful to it for as long as they live on this earth.
And then there is what I know. It is this peace that really does pass all understanding. It is what I have learned in time and it is what I know will be true forever. There is one place that will always be home, always be joy, and always be love and mercy and grace. It is the place of safety, salvation, and ultimate security. It is the only place where everything will always be alright: In my Father’s house.
“So that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God.” – Genesis 28:21
“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’” – Psalm 122:1
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AUTHOR: Jeremiah Tatum
