January 15, 2025
LISTEN TO AUDIO
When I was growing up, I shared a bedroom with my younger brother which, due to the five-year difference in our ages (twelve vs. seven), eventually became unbearable. Determined to have my own space, I convinced my Dad to help me build a new room onto our house – a project that took 2 1/2 years to complete. That experience taught me a lot about design, construction and hard work. Later, I applied those lessons to fixing up houses. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that the process of fixing up a house mirrors the way God works to transform our lives.
In the Bible, Jesus tells the parable of the wise and foolish builders: "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27, NIV. This is more than a story about architecture and building houses – it’s a blueprint for living.
We are all being transformed from the image of God to the likeness of Christ. Only God knows exactly what His plan, “His Work” is, for each of us. He is The Architect, The Designer of our lives.
Today we continue our discussion from last week.
Who’s going to do the Work on the house? Some of us are handy, have the time and can do all or part of the Work ourselves. Those of you who have hired anyone to do anything around the house know that the world of contractors can be a mysterious place filled with uncertainty, confusion and frustration. I learned early on that the value received on a job is not necessarily consistent with the price paid for the work done. If you hire the wrong contractor, they can really make a mess of things. One time I was getting some bids to upgrade the electrical service on a house and I’d received bids ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. A friend recommended “Ralph the Electrician.” He was good, dependable and cheap. So I called Ralph and his bid was $1,200 compared to a high of $10,000. I was shocked! I made sure Ralph understood what I needed, he assured me he did, and because he came highly recommended, I hired him. We actually lived in that house and I have to admit that I woke up a few times in the middle of the night praying that the house didn’t catch fire and burn down. There was always that uncertainty.
Who’s going to do the Work in us? Fortunately, we don’t need to worry about the uncertainties of the “Ralphs” of the world to fix us up. We have God, Who lovingly restores us with His perfect Work! The Lord will do whatever Work He wants to do in us – if we let Him.
What’s it going to cost to fix up the house? That’s a function of the Work and making sure the highest value is created for the lowest reasonable cost.
What’s it going to cost to fix us up? God has a lot more invested in us than we do. The Bible says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16, NIV. We are more valuable to God than we can ever imagine. God the Father sent God the Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins.
What is the value of the house in its current condition? You can lose a lot of your profit by paying too much for a house you want to fix up.
What is our value in our current condition? Praise God that our value is not measured by the world or by our peers, but by our Lord. No matter what our current condition is and, regardless of outward appearances, we need to remember who we are. God created us. We are His precious children. We are priceless to Him.
What will the house’s value be after the Work is complete? If you’re fixing it up to sell, the difference between the sales price and the total cost in the project is the profit.
What will our value be after God completes His Work in us? Our value has eternal significance. God is preparing us for something beyond this life, something everlasting. We need to see ourselves and others the way Jesus sees us – not in terms of our past performance but our future possibilities. It’s been said, “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.”
How long is it going to take to complete the house? This is a very important factor in a fixer upper. Time is money.
How long is it going to take God to complete us? We are all works in progress. How do we know that God is still working on us? If we’re still alive, He still is.
So how does God go about fixing us up? Just as there is a huge difference in the foundations upon which the “wise” and “foolish” builders chose to build their houses, there is a huge difference in being “wise” or “foolish” in our lives.
Jesus says that the wise man” is someone “who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice…” The Bible tells us that God is constantly speaking to us. God has given us the ability to hear what He says to us, to understand what we have heard, and then, to respond. Having heard what God is saying to us, we become wise by putting what He has said into practice.
Jesus’ parable takes for granted that “rain” will come down, “streams” will rise and “winds” will blow. Their form may be financial, physical, psychological, emotional or spiritual. Nobody gets through life without some “storms.” It’s not a question of “if” but “when.” With Jesus as our foundation, storms may come, but our houses – our lives – will stand!
I don’t think the foolish builder consciously chose to build on sand – nor do any of us. No one chooses to be “foolish.” We get there by little steps and by bad choices that accumulate. In his parable Jesus seems to be saying, “What are you going to do? Will you build your life on what I have said, or not? Yes or No?”
Another extremely important question is: What is it going to cost us for God to fix us up? We start by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord. We pray that His will be done and allow Him to do whatever He wants to do in our lives. We participate and cooperate with Him as we build our lives on the firm foundation of trust and faith in God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
There may be houses that are hopeless tear downs. But there are no hopeless human beings. No matter how we may appear to the world or to our peers or sometimes even to ourselves, with Jesus Christ as Lord, none of us are “tear downs.” We are all “fixer uppers”!
Praise the Lord!
REMEMBER & BELIEVE
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
In the meantime, we build our lives on the solid Rock of Jesus Christ!
PRAYER
Lord, thank You for loving us just as we are and for not leaving us this way. We surrender to Your Work in our lives. Build us into the persons You created us to be.
Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil and the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (NRSV)
God bless you!
Richard
Christ Worshipper | Disciple Maker | Hope Giver
Welcome to In the Meantime. I'm glad you're here! We are living in the time between Christ's ascension into heaven and His promised return to earth. In the Meantime is a collection of stories about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and His presence, love, mercy and grace in my life. In the Meantime, Jesus is Lord! Hallelujah!
Comments