Friday, August 15, 2008

Renovation

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition tv show
"And do not be conformed to this world, but betransformed by the renewing
of your mind, that you may prove what is
that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
Romans 12:2

I don't watch a lot of tv but sometimes I will sit through The Extreme Makeover: Home Edition tv show. It's a reality series on ABC where needy and deserving families get their often nearly condemned homes replaced with a brand new beautiful home complete with new furnishings, appliances, etc. The families are sent away on a dream vacation for a week. When they return, their entire neighborhood, family, and friends are packed behind a bus that obstructs their view of the new home. When the lucky family returns to the cheers of the crowd, Ty Pennington (The Host) says, "Move that bus!" and the family's dream home is revealed. It's really heartwarming to see their tears of joy as they see the exterior and then tour the interior and backyard with the cast.


The Word says the ultimate goal that God desires for each of us is our transformation....a renewing of our mind. Through sanctification we are transformed and renewed into the image of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 6:19 says "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit..."
In order for Christ to abide in us... our temple, our house, our body... must be fit to live in. That means there must be a tearing down of strongholds, a rebuilding, and renovation in our spirit. A renovation of a home doesn't happen overnight and neither does this sanctification process. It is just that ... a process.


I love this...
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right, and stopping the leaks in the roof, and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably, and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (London: William Collins, 1970), 172.

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