This Old House

My husband and I have been working on our house for several years now. We bought the house for $2000 and moved it to our ranch, setting it on a basement. As I started thinking about the whole scenario, I realized how much the old house reminded me of my own life.

When we found this house, it wasn’t much to look at. This house had been damaged by wear and tear, weather, neglect, and the effects of time. It had been used and abused by previous owners and tenants. It had also been disrespected by trespassers and vandals.   This house was not fulfilling its purpose. Although it was originally created to be a place of shelter and comfort, it was just standing empty and useless.   

This house was destined for destruction.  The owner told us that he planned to have the local fire department come and do a controlled burn on the property. In order to be preserved, this house had to be purchased and it had to be moved to a new location. It could not stay where it was. So, we paid a price to redeem the house, to make it our own. We prepared a special place, a strong foundation, and we moved the house to our property. 

When we bought this house, we purchased it because we had a plan for it. We bought it to be our own dwelling place. We bought it because we had a vision of what it could be.  We decided to do the work to renovate the house ourselves. Our goal is not to make this house like any other house. It will be made to please us, to provide beauty and blessing as our home.

There was definitely a cost to renovate this house. It also required a huge amount of time and effort to become what we intended it to be. There were many things that had to be removed, and there were many things that had to be added. There were things that had to be braced up, things that had to be torn out, and things that required big changes. The original floor plan and design were changed. But, in the process of renovation, this house became larger and more beautiful than it was originally.

The work on this house will be ongoing. It will likely never be completely finished. As we reside in the house, we will continue to maintain and sustain the house. We will have to make changes when they are needed. But the real treasures of this house will never be found in the house itself. Rather, those treasures will be found in what is going on inside—the life and the love that the house will contain. You see, this house is a lot like us.  

We certainly didn’t have much to offer when God found us. We were damaged, we had been misused, we were empty inside and useless.  We, too, were destined for destruction. Christ paid a price for us. The Bible says that he shed his blood to purchase us for God. When he redeemed us, he also moved us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. Jesus himself became the foundation for our lives. 

God has a vision for us, just as we had a vision for the house. He has sent his Holy Spirit to dwell in us. We literally become God’s dwelling place.  Just as we work in our house to achieve our plans, God personally works in us to fulfill His plan for us. He will take things out, bring things in, change things, build up things, and do whatever has to be done to prepare us for His purpose. His work will make us into much more than we could ever be without Him.  And He will continue the work every moment, every day. And, the real treasure of our lives consists of the Life and Love inside–God himself!

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