I will
give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your
heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
-- Ezekiel
36:26
Although home renovation is hardly a new concept, the related
house-flipping industry has more recent origins. And it's flourished over the
last 25 years--particularly following the Great Recession and the 2010 home
foreclosure crisis.
The principle behind flipping is to buy 
a foreclosed or otherwise "distressed"
property at a bargain-basement price, fix it up quickly and then sell it for a
nice profit. HGTV's popular television series The Fixer Upper follows Waco, TX-based Chip
and Joanna Gaines as they renovate the worst homes in the best neighborhoods.
The results from their shared efforts are nothing less than spectacular. What
were once useless eyesores become cherished homesteads.
a foreclosed or otherwise "distressed"
property at a bargain-basement price, fix it up quickly and then sell it for a
nice profit. HGTV's popular television series The Fixer Upper follows Waco, TX-based Chip
and Joanna Gaines as they renovate the worst homes in the best neighborhoods.
The results from their shared efforts are nothing less than spectacular. What
were once useless eyesores become cherished homesteads.
Every Christ-follower is linked to this illustration. Like
run-down properties made whole again, we become born-again creations once we
accept Jesus through faith as our Lord and Savior. We start life over
with a clean slate--now ready and able to do good works to advance God's
Kingdom. Think about the implications: All
of our failures and everything that we've done wrong throughout our lives is
forgiven. And it's all because Jesus paid that heavy price and died
in our place on the cross!
As new Christ-followers we become transformed in the way we live,
the way we see the world and the way we look toward the future. But like a
weather-worn house with a bad foundation, our renovation takes time, and it's
on the Master Builder's timetable. What's more, we can't expect quick and easy
results.
God--like those professional home pros that we see on TV--enjoys
transforming the worthless into the worthwhile. And he tends to accomplish his
plans in some unlikely ways and places through some even more unlikely people
like you and me.
"Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" our Creator proclaims through the Book of Isaiah. "I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."
"Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" our Creator proclaims through the Book of Isaiah. "I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."
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