Under Construction

C. S. Lewis pictures Christ's work in our lives as the renovation of a dilapidated house. When we first come to Christ there are things in our life that clearly need to be fixed: the roof leaks, and all the drains are clogged. We expect Christ to fix those things. But after we get those obvious things fixed, we can feel we have got what we wanted and expect Christ to stop there and let us live our lives the way we want to live it. But He does not stop there. He starts breaking down walls and building new wings. And to do this He often has to put us through trouble and discomfort. For He is rebuilding us into a palace, a fit dwelling place for the King of Kings. And we would be willing to settle for much less.

God has purposes He wants to accomplish in our lives that culminate in our being conformed to the image of His Son (2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 2:10). This is a long process that requires our continued involvement (Philippians 3:12-16; 2 Timothy 4:7,8; Hebrews 12:1-2). Now God Himself provides the power to make this possible (2 Peter 1:3; Philippians 2:13; Colossians 1:29). But we still have to make a choice to let Him do this in us (Romans 12:1,2; Titus 2:11-14; Galatians 5:16). However, often we are willing to settle for less than that. We are willing to settle for being good moral people, as our culture describes it, or good church-goers, good moral person who do some religious exercises.

The reason we do this is that we feel, whether we will admit it or not, that our standing before God is based on what we have done. Therefore, we are afraid to admit we do not measure up for fear that since this is so, God might reject us. But Scripture says we are sinners (Romans 3:23; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9) who cannot save ourselves (Romans 7:14; 8:8; John 15:5). However, we can be saved through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 4:4,5; Philippians 3:9), based on what He has done for us (1 Peter 2:24,25; Colossians 2:13,14; 2 Corinthians 5:21). This results in our not being condemned in the sight of God (Romans 8:33,34; 14:4; John 3:18). Therefore, we are able to honestly look at our lives and see what needs changing. And we are able to let God do His job of rebuilding in our lives, knowing that our place with Him is secure.For even though the goal seems far beyond our present reach, He will not give up on us until He has accomplished it in us.