Under Construction

Jul 17, 2021

“You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house.”

- I Peter 2:5

If you had been eavesdropping on conversations at our house over the last five years, you would have heard discussions about updating our home of thirteen years. I would be the one pushing to update to stay current with home trends. (Our house will have better market value when we go to sell someday.) Ken would be thoughtful and reflective, running numbers on cost of remodel versus resale value and very hesitant to embark on a remodeling project.

So we are two months in on a major remodeling project. (You knew that was coming, right?) We are talking about the entire house. We came to the decision together after time in prayer and collaboration. We decided that, Lord willing, we’ll stay in San Diego when we retire and plan on living in our home until we are no longer able.

I’m learning through this project that I’m not good with chaos. We’ve been living in our guest bedroom and wading through dust, boxes and plastic throughout the rest of the house. As I’ve reflected, it’s been clear to me how much our remodel is an illustration for life.

As followers of Jesus, we are under construction. There may be chaos all around us, or deep inside our soul.

Our Bible may be stuffed in a box or a bookshelf and our memory of what we knew about God is filled with dust. Instead, our thoughts are filled with reminders of some of the things Mike Foster talked about this past weekend: the voices of our parents, our wounds and society.

Jesus spent his time on earth with those that believed the world’s lies. They felt unworthy, uncared for and unloved. People under construction that didn’t have life all figured out. People like you and me. There are many examples in both the Old and New Testament of God stepping in and changing the voices deep inside us.

Let’s look at Moses:

“Who am I that I should go?” he asked (Exodus 3:11).

God responded, “I will be with you and promise to bring you to worship on this mountain” (Exodus 3:12).

“What if they do not believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you?’” (Exodus 4:1).

God’s reply: He demonstrated how He would use signs and miracles to prove who He was (Exodus 4:2-9).

“I have never been eloquent… I am slow of speech and tongue” (Exodus 4:10).

God responded, “Who gave human beings their mouths?... Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you and teach you what to say” (Exodus 4:11-12).

For other examples, look at Gideon in Judges 6 and 7, Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5-8, the Centurion in Luke 7:6-9. What about the woman bleeding for twelve years who took the risk to believe He could heal her just by touching the tassel on his robe in Matthew 9:21-22, or the woman at the well in John 4:16-29?

Friends, we’re all under construction! Jesus wants to change us from the inside out, beginning with the lies we’ve been taught or the lies we believe. Jesus wants to build us into a beautiful, fully functioning, updated and remodeled new version of ourselves, one that reflects Him and His love to the world!