Have you ever tried to fix or flip a house?
Several years ago Alisha and I lived in a house that needed a lot of work. Of course, I thought I could do a lot of it myself.
One night, I decided that I really wanted to change out the water faucet in our shower in the master bathroom. I had never done this before but I thought, how hard could it be?
So, I did what I thought anyone would do. I went to Home Depot. Picked out the new faucet that I liked with the right kind of finish that we wanted for the Master Bathroom. Brought it home. I got out my tools and went to work.
I looked at the current faucet in the shower and saw where the screws were and proceeded to take it apart. (Some of you realize that I’ve already missed a critical step.)
I continued to take the faucet apart. I got it away from the wall and continued to remove different parts of the faucet so I could put the new one on. That’s when, all of a sudden, water started going everywhere!
Now, water is spraying all over the shower. I’m getting soaked from head to toe. I don’t know what to do. I try to put the faucet back together but I can’t because there’s too much water shooting out of the pipes!
Finally, I shut the door to the shower with water going everywhere and I did the only thing I knew to do in that situation. It’s 10 PM at night, but I had nowhere else to turn. So, I called my dad!
My dad does this kind of work for a living. Within 20 minutes he was over at my house in the middle of the night. The first thing he did was the first things I should have done… He shut off the water! Then proceeded to show me that what I bought would not work with our shower. He put the old faucet back together. And I never tried to replace it again!
Good Intentions
Sometimes we have really good intentions, but things go sideways.
They don’t turn out the way we intended. Left to our own devices, we can often make things worse instead of better! There are times in our lives when we try really hard to make things right, or make things better, or make things the way they are supposed to be and for whatever reason, things don’t work out.
We’re striving to make things better for our kids. Or we’re trying hard to make things better at our work. Maybe we’re working overtime to improve our marriage. Or make better grades in school. Whatever it is, our intentions are good, but things go sideways.
Sometimes, and we know this is true too, things go sideways precisely because we don’t have good intentions.
There are times, and we’ve all done this, where our motivation was not pure. For whatever reason, we wanted things to go badly for another person. And maybe we did something, or maybe we choose not to do something we should have done, because we were angry, or hurt, or upset.
So we stood by and watched as things went sideways. And there was something inside of us that was pleased. We wouldn’t want to admit it because it reveals something that is painfully true about us, that sometimes things go sideways because we wanted them to.
What do we do when things don’t work out, when things go badly, when trouble comes our way? Who do we call in the middle of the night when we need help and we need it right now?
Time for a Change
The truth is, there comes a time in the life of every house when it’s time for some renovations. The house has aged. The appliances don’t work anymore. Things need to be updated or changed. It’s time for renovations.
Is it possible that it’s time for some renovations in your life?
Is it possible that over time things in your life are no longer the way they are supposed to be? Are there things about your life that need to be updated or changed? Maybe there are relationships that need healing? Or habits that need changing? Are there behaviors that need fixing? Is it time for you to take a hard look at your life and ask the question, what about my heart and life need renovating?
The Apostle Paul once wrote these words to a group of Jesus followers in the ancient city of Colossee…
Colossians 3.1-4:
“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.”
It seems like there are countless TV shows right now that all center around flipping houses. I think at one point or another we’ve watched them all at our house!
In case your curious, it takes more than 30 minutes to flip a house. And I’m pretty sure that whenever HGTV cuts to a commercial break, they’ve got a crew of about 300 professionals who roll in and do all the work. There’s no way the 2 or 3 people that are actually on the show do all the work on the house when they flip a house.
But every one of those shows all ends the same way, they show a BEFORE picture and an AFTER picture.
They want to remind you of what the house looked like before the flip and what the house looks like now after the flip.
Before and After Photos
Here’s a couple of my favorite BEFORE and AFTER house flip photos…
[slideshowck id=3641]I think this is what Paul is saying here… Since you have been raised to new life with Christ… there should be before and after pictures!
Before Christ, I was…
After Christ, I am becoming…
So there is a little difference here, just because you’ve decided to become a follower of Jesus things don’t change instantly. It’s not like you can put a quick coat of paint on your life and make everything different.
It’s a process. We call it discipleship. It’s the process of BECOMING more like Jesus. But there should be a difference in your life when you become a follower of Christ. There should be a before and after photo. Before Christ, I was this way. But because of Christ, I am becoming this way!
How do Transformation and Renovation happen?
Paul goes on to tell us how this renovation, this transformation, happens. It happens when you…
“Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.”
If you want to renovate your heart, if it’s time to change your life, Paul says this is mission-critical… It all begins with your decision to think about the things of heaven. To set your mind on Christ. To fix your eyes on Jesus.
This is where the renovation begins. But there’s more to it. If you want to know how this renovation of our hearts happens, Click Here to read the next post.
Want more from this Series… Click here.
