For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. [Colossians 1:13-14 (NLT)]
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! [2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)]
As for the “House of Lost Dreams,” about which I wrote yesterday—almost overnight, where once a dilapidated ruin stood, a beautiful house now stands. The roof tiles are repaired and clean, the house is freshly painted, the overgrown yard tamed, and a “For Sale” sign stands in the yard.
That “For Sale” sign tells me the people who redeemed and refurbished the house saw it not as a home but as an opportunity for profit. They certainly had their work cut out for them; the interior was probably infested by insects and animals and covered with mold. This hot humid climate is brutal to abandoned property and within three years a house can become irreparable. I imagine the house now looks as beautiful inside as it does from the road but I wonder if the changes were only cosmetic. What about the mold deep in the drywall and wood? Is there dry rot in the framework? Are there cracks in the foundation or stucco? What about termites? Did the contractor paint over mold rather than replace wood and drywall? Did he cut corners to increase his profit? Unfortunately, not all rehabbers are ethical and honest. I only hope that the “House of Lost Dreams” doesn’t become a nightmare for whoever eventually buys it.
In our northern community, Habitat for Humanity has started buying up foreclosed abandoned properties and rehabbing them into homes for Habitat recipients. We recently toured one of those Habitat homes while it was still a work in progress. It had been stripped down to its bare bones. Drywall, furnace, appliances, cabinets, and wiring were gone—all that remained was the frame. It is now being rebuilt with new materials by volunteers and the home’s new owners who will purchase it with sweat equity and monthly payments.
Rebuilt from the ground up—that’s pretty much what happens to us when Jesus redeems us. Of course, he doesn’t have to deal with bankers and title companies but He pays off our debt to God, assumes ownership of us, and moves right in. His is not a slap-dash skin-deep surface repair (as I suspect of the Florida house) because He is making a home fit for a King! Like the Habitat builders, He takes his time while repairing and restoring us. Although He doesn’t gut us or strip us of our wiring, He’s not about to let any mold, filth, defective parts, or pests remain. He cleans up the mess, fixes what’s broken, patches the holes, pulls out the weeds, and plants a spiritual fruit tree in the garden.
Although some homes are too far gone for even the best rehabber or most devoted Habitat group, none of us are too far gone for Jesus. He doesn’t care how long we’ve been neglected, how broken-down we are, how cracked our foundation or how rotten our core. Once redeemed, He restores us. He’ll never abandon or sell us and, as a plus, He gives us our own personal handyman in the way of the Holy Spirit!
“Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives,” goes the introduction to the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives. Since that show has aired more than 13,000 episodes since 1965, something tells me the show’s hourglass has been flipped over several times. While that hourglass keeps getting turned, the hourglass that numbers the days of our lives is glued to the table—once the sand runs through to the other side, it’s all over. Moreover, none of us have any idea how large our individual hourglass happens to be. The days of our lives are both finite and unknown.
We just received one of those beautiful edible arrangements of fruit. The fruit was displayed as if we had an enormous flower arrangement. It seemed a pity to pull off the enormous ripe strawberries or take the melon balls from the centers of the pineapple slices but it was necessary if we were ever going to truly appreciate it. Fruit is meant to be eaten and that much fruit was meant to be shared before it spoiled. As I packed it up (all the while tasting as I worked), I couldn’t help but think of another gift of fruit—the fruit of the Spirit. Like juicy strawberries and sweet melon, it’s meant to be shared. Moreover, the Holy Spirit’s fruit doesn’t need to be refrigerated, can’t spoil, and is even more beautiful than real fruit, no matter how artfully arranged.
In our part of Florida, yellow lights tend to mean “speed up” and red lights are just mere suggestions so no one really expects anyone to stop at a yellow. Although the light had just turned yellow, the elderly gentleman stopped his car. “The #@!% idiot should have sped through the intersection!” said the women following him. Having been tailgating his car, she was furious at having to brake so abruptly. Already late, now she’d be even later. Moreover, the unexpected stop caused her to spill her coffee and drop both her cell phone and makeup. Angry, she laid on the horn, called him a few more choice expletives, shook her fists and even gave him the middle-finger salute! She was in mid-rant when she looked up to see a police officer at her window. He politely ordered her to exit the car. Having forgotten her driver’s license in another purse, she was transported to the police station, fingerprinted, photographed, and finally placed in a holding cell.
Devotions of the Heart 