Remodel

Years ago, we bought an old house that was the classic fixer-upper.  But the real problem was with a baby on the way, the tiny house was instantly too small.  That meant that along with the remodeling was the necessity for adding on.  Ever the economists, we found a used lumber yard and began buying old lumber, hauling it home, and re-nailing it in place.

It was the longest and hardest project that I have ever tackled.  Not only was it difficult to cull the wood from the lumber yard, but each board had to be retooled into a useable piece of wood.  I vowed to never do it that way again.

Years later, we built our own home with the help of many friends who oversaw my amateur carpentry.  They would tell me when I needed to hire a job done or do it myself and lend a hand in the evenings and on the weekends.  But the best part was that it was  all new wood.  No nails to pull or paint to strip.  And even thought it was a tough and stressful six months, we accomplished more in those months than in the year that I spent picking through the ruins of old houses and reconstructing our first home.

What I learned was this.  Even though it might look easy, remodeling is the hardest type of construction there is.  And used lumber?  It is the toughest building material to use!  While a house becomes dilapidated by neglect, it is almost easier to tear it down and start over than to try to fix what is wrong.  The time and money saved on building from scratch many times out-weighs the rose-colored idea of restoring a long neglected house.  Take it from me.  I’ve been there.

Now let me apply this scenario to you.  Recently, I’ve been working with some folks who have had a life changing experience with the Lord.  Yes, they have been saved, born again, and will carry their decision to follow Christ into eternity.  And even though there are the ups and downs of being a new Christian, the joys of discovery are far beyond the difficulties of learning to walk.  It is what I would call ‘new construction.”

Tragically though, along with the joys of “new construction” has been the inevitable “remodels” that are a constant in church life.  Now don’t misunderstand.  I am not talking about minor repair work or spiritual upkeep or even the occasional “adding on” that takes place in all of our lives.  After all, we all need to expand our spiritual homes and do the constant maintenance that makes for a comfortable abode.

What I’m talking about is the restoration of destroyed lives.  Lives that have placed great effort in constructing a nice facade while the inside of the building has been sorely neglected.  Lives run down by the secret sins so often hidden behind the closed doors of our soul.

Sooner or later, the roof crashes in or the floor buckles under the weight of rotted debris.  The need for restoration becomes obvious.  It is just a shame that the neglect has gone on so long.

Let me speak very plain about what causes the foundations to rot under so many today.  When I say “secret sin” I am referring to those things that we think we are getting by with but instead eat away at the foundation of our lives like hungry termites.  Things like pornography, adultery, alcohol, drugs, and immorality are certainly the most common supposedly hidden sins.  But below the obvious are what drives them into the soul with the force of a sledge hammer.  Things like pride, anger, lust, and selfishness are the dry rot of many a Christian life.

Many try to ignore the signs of swarming sin that infests their spiritual home.  The restoration is costly and difficult.  The tearing down and cleaning out is painful.  And no, this kind of dilapidation cannot be glossed over with plaster and shiny new paint.  Too often, it takes a wrecking ball of pain to even begin the work.  Having to retool the abused building blocks of faith is much more difficult than you can imagine.

So don’t let it happen to you… or your spiritual neighbor for that matter.  Don’t think for a moment that the termites of sin will go away on their own.  Don’t just keep emptying the buckets that catch the rain from the sin soaked roof.

Get to work now and repair before you have to restore.  Because diligent soul maintenance now will keep your spiritual house from being condemned later.

Tagged as: Weekly Journals