A house blessing is one of the happiest gatherings a family can host. Folding chairs on the veranda. The pastor at the front door. A cousin who has driven two hours, an aunt who has flown in, children underfoot, a pot of curry goat on the fire round the back. Somebody reads a psalm, somebody prays, and then, inevitably, somebody makes a speech.
It is in the speech that you learn who the family thinks built the house.
Marvellous in our eyes
Psalm 118 is a song of thanksgiving, sung by someone who had been hard pressed and rescued. Near its centre is an image straight from a building site. In the King James wording: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:22–23).
Picture the masons sorting stones, rejecting one as unsuitable, tossing it aside. And then that very stone ends up as the most important one in the building, the one that holds two walls together. The psalmist does not credit the masons for spotting its value. He says: this is the Lord’s doing.
Jesus later applied these words to Himself (Matthew 21:42), the rejected one who became the cornerstone of God’s house. But the psalm’s instinct remains a good one for any family standing in front of a finished home: to look at what has been built and say honestly whose doing it was.
The rejected stones in our own stories
Many houses have a stone the builders refused somewhere in their history. The mortgage application turned down twice before a different lender said yes. The lot nobody wanted because it sloped, which turned out to catch the best breeze in the district. The years of saving when a sibling said you would never manage it. The son who was written off at school and now sends money home each month for the roof.
When those stories are told at the house blessing, they are not really about the people. They are testimonies. The Lord has done this.
Boasting in the right direction
There is nothing wrong with pride in good work. The mason who laid true walls, the woman who managed every dollar of the budget, the family who sacrificed holidays for years: they deserve to be honoured, and a wise speech thanks them by name. But Scripture draws a distinction between thanking people and giving them the glory. Paul, quoting Jeremiah, puts it simply: let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31).
Moses warned Israel about the moment when they had built good houses and lived in them, when their silver and gold had multiplied, lest they say in their heart that their own power and the might of their hand had got them this wealth (Deuteronomy 8:12–17). The danger is not in the house. It is in the story we tell about it.
Ways to keep the credit where it belongs
- At the house blessing, invite family members to share one moment when they saw God’s hand in the build.
- Write Psalm 118:23 somewhere in the house: on a plaque by the door, on a card in the kitchen, even pencilled on a roof beam before the ceiling goes up.
- Thank the workers publicly, and pay any outstanding balances before the celebration, not after.
- Set aside something from the house, a room for visitors, a meal for neighbours, as a first offering of its use.
When the house is not finished
Not every family has a finished house to bless. Some are still in the rented room, or in the half-built shell with a zinc sheet for a door. The psalm speaks to them as well. It was written by someone who had been surrounded and pushed hard, and who could still say, “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). Thanksgiving is not only for the day the keys are handed over. It is for the days in between, when the only stone in place is the one God has laid.
For reflection
- What “rejected stone” in your own housing story turned out to hold things together?
- When you tell others about your home, whose doing do you say it was?
Lord, this is Your doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. Thank You for every door that closed and every stone that others refused. Keep us from boasting in ourselves, and let this house tell of Your faithfulness. Amen.
Follow Jamaica Homes on Youtube @jamaicahomes and Instagram @jamaica_homes and on Facebook @jamaicahomesnews Send us a message or email us at onlinefeedback@jamaica-homes.com or editor@jamaica-homes.com
Visit our YouTube Community ↗