"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
(Romans 12:1-2)
I spent this past Saturday volunteering for Habit For Humanity. Our task for the day was to gut an old house to prepare it for a complete remodel. While the work was hard and dirty, it was good to know that our efforts were the first step in preparing a nice, comfortable home for a young family, where their children could grow up in a safe neighborhood.
Judging by the construction materials used in the house we were working on, it is about the same age as mine. As many of you know, I've spent the last ten years gutting and remodeling my own home, and I'm still not finished. Fortunately, the Valdez family will only have to wait three months for their home to be finished!
As I was demolishing 60 years of construction (some not very well done), I thought about all similarities a project like this has to the work that God does in our lives once we accept His gift of salvation. Sure, there are those "Christians" who prefer to have God slap a fresh coat of paint on their lives, and then want no further work done. They are quite content to have the appearance of changed lives, but their interiors are still the old run-down messes that were in place before they got saved.
Just as this house had the imprints of many previous owners, some who obviously thought they knew how to construct porches and patios and interior walls, our lives also have the imprints of people from our past - people who helped construct our attitudes, behaviors and personalities, but didn't always do a very good job. God sees the mess that we have become (far removed from the perfect blueprint he started with), and wants to tear out all of that old inferior construction and restore us to our original condition, before we were marred by sin.
Anyone who has done or seen this type of remodeling work knows that it is a messy process. In the midst of it, everything looks like total chaos. Yet the master architect can see the final outcome, even if no one else can visualize it. I was discussing my remodeling projects with a friend last night, and I told him that even when everyone else sees a gutted room with nothing but rafters, studs and a concrete floor, I can see the beautiful finished product in my mind's eye. I think this is the same with God. All we see is the messy demolition as He deconstructs all the undesirable parts of our lives, while He sees the glorious end result, a life that resembles His son Jesus.
In Romans 12:1-2, the Apostle Paul tells us that we need to become transformed. The Greek word he used is the root of metamorphosis, literally changing (or morphing) from one creature into another. But notice that he doesn't tell us to sit idly by while God does this transformational work. We have to be an active participant in the process. God is a gentleman, and will not override our free will. We have to be willing to submit ourselves to the reconstruction process, as messy and painful as it may be. It's also interesting to note that he tells us that this change happens in our minds first. When we try to become more Christ-like in our actions and behaviors without first transforming our minds, we are simply slapping a fresh coat of paint on an old, outdated, and inferior structure. Sooner or later, the paint will peel, revealing the ugliness that lies beneath. We have to let God strip us down to bare bones and start all over, from the inside out.
When you look at my house today, you can tell that transformation is happening, but it's still pretty unsightly from the street. It's not until you come inside that you can see the beautiful restoration that has taken place. Eventually the outside will reflect the inside. For some people, the transformation is a quick process, just as the Valdez family will have a brand-new house in three months. For others, like myself, this work takes many years, complete with starts and stops and setbacks. God's been working on my personal remodel since 1984, and He's not finished yet. Have I enjoyed the process? Not necessarily. Do I like the work He's completed so far? Absolutely. Unlike me and my remodeling efforts, God never looks at a completed part of me and wishes that He had done something differently. He always gets it right the first time. When will He be finished with me? Only He knows. I wish it didn't take so long, but I guess I am an especially difficult project.
What transformations need to take place in your life? Don't resist the wrecking ball. God knows what He's doing. He's been doing it for a long time. And the sooner you let Him start the demolition, the quicker He can finish the restoration work.
Have a blessed week!
Pastor David
