A Major Fixer Upper

There are a couple of ways to handle a fixer upper. Sometimes it's hard to tell if a contractor just put some cosmetic work into the project, or if he dove deep and checked out all the priors. This is why "we opened up your wall to create the open concept you asked for, and found something that's going to put a serious dent your overall budget" is so common on the (un)reality shows. 

I believe that the Gospel has the power to change people. That real, genuine change can happen when the ownership of one's life is turned over to God. I also believe that there is a very strong tendency to simply put great efforts to appearing that there has been a change. 

This might seem like a more attractive and less messy way to do things, just paint and spackle the outside and make it look shiny. I mean sure, the sanding makes a little dust, but nothing *too* serious. There's satisfaction in the DIY - "look at what I've done!" The creative control can be a pretty heady thing. I like to choose the colors, the fixtures, the overall direction of my project. The speed is an issue too - hurry up, look good, everything's fine, let's get this on the market. 

In His mercy, in His grace, God has called me to follow after Him. And through His Word, He is making me realize that I don't *really* need a quick, cosmetic-only fix. I need to be made new. I need GOD to make me new.  I need Him to tear off the poorly hung drywall and reroute the plumbing and electrical so that everything is up to code, and shore up the foundation, cut out the rotten parts, replace the termite eaten boards. I need His expert, artisan trim work and harmonious, peaceful colors. I need Him to transform every closet, every corner of the basement and the secret shed out back. I need more of Him. 

I believe God can do that for me, a major fixer upper. He can take this wreck and change me into a masterpiece, so that His master craftsmanship is what people notice.

Along the way, everything is exposed and visible to the whole wide world. People talk. People stare. People wonder if the work will *EVER* get done. *I* wonder if the work will ever get done. And the answer is - not for awhile. 

So...sometimes I get impatient, living in a construction zone. 

I also see that there are some onlookers. Observers. My kids. Yours. They can see that it is painful, embarrassing. That it is messy. They can see the details and the truth of the rotten and the shoddy work that was done before and needs fixing. They can see other fixer uppers too. Some are hasty (and beautiful!) DIY's and they may wonder if that's a better way to go - should I try to look good, be habitable so I can be immediately noticed, admired, and used?  Should I fix what people see so I can be Insta-ready? Or am I going to sign up for the long fix? 

I can tell you, as much as I want my kids to appreciate master craftsmanship in actual houses, even more than that, I want them to see, know, and follow hard after God. I want them to be genuine from the foundation up. And there are no quick fixes for that kind of result. God has to do the work. And they have to let Him. I want to be - and need to be - the kind of parent that shares my struggles - and the goodness of God to fix me. 

It is a flawed illustration. But it made me think today. We are works in progress, Christians. We are hot messes from the foundation up. Let's let God use His truth to take us down to the bones and make us new. Better than new - His master creations.