Saturday, June 3, 2017

The Fixer Upper

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 Hammera 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."

No comments: