“By wisdom,” we are told in Proverbs 24:3-4, “a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” The principle in these proverbs should not be understood as referring to mere physical blessing, but rather to the more imperative (and at times elusive) atmosphere of blessedness that we have the power to either cultivate or thwart within our homes.

Laura Ingalls Wilder is known for making the observation that “home” is the nicest word there is. Indeed, there is an inherent beauty and sweetness to the idea of home that can almost be felt in the sound of the word itself. Surely this is because that lovely place of shelter, comfort, belonging, and becoming that we call home finds its fullest actualization in our God who is himself inherently hospitable. He is the ransomed sinner’s very home. So it is that as we seek to provide an echo of that hospitality in our own families through the artful cultivation of the home, the warmth of his love is channeled through us, spilling out onto all who are welcomed under our roofs.

This calling to be a conduit of God’s love is a task worthy of careful consideration. Building a home that glorifies God – a home where its traditions, its daily rhythms, its family roles, and its priorities are informed by and constrained by Scripture – is something that takes intentionality and it is not done without concerted effort.

Indeed, we are given some sober advice in the book of Proverbs as we seek to do this very thing. Here we are told that while the wisest women build their homes they can also easily become instruments of destruction by way of their foolish words and actions (Prov. 14:1). “By wisdom,” we are told in Proverbs 24:3-4, “a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” The principle in these proverbs should not be understood as referring to mere physical blessing, but rather to the more imperative (and at times elusive) atmosphere of blessedness that we have the power to either cultivate or thwart within our homes. We see through these and similar proverbs that the successful building up of a family is done only through God-dependent wisdom. It is an act of humility as we continually turn our attention to the Creator for direction.

This brings me to an extremely practical and perhaps surprising application of the doctrine of sola scriptura: a God-glorifying home is built upon the authority and sufficiency of the Word of God. In other words, a Christian home is built upon sola scriptura. Now I can imagine that when a young woman prepares to enter marriage and she and her fiancé begin dreaming of their future home, “sola scriptura” is a phrase that rarely comes to mind. But if they are Christians, then they are very likely to speak of glorifying God with their future family. The question they will face throughout their marriage will then become how they will fulfill that desire.

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