Transformed

I heard a radio advertisement the other day for a home improvement company. They cheerily said that a typical home remodel can take days or weeks, cost a lot of money, and cause a real mess in your house. But if you choose us, they assured their listening audience that we will come in and do it quickly, with minimal mess. You’ll have new countertops, cabinet fronts, and fixtures. On and on it went. And we will do this very economically. Other companies charge much more, but we will do it for a lot less. They actually used the word “transform.” Transformed and finished in a few days? For about one-third of the money other home remodel companies charge? And only a little dust, dirt, wood shavings, and all that stuff, too? Wow! It sounds almost too good to be true.

It’s wonderful to add a new look and feel to your home. It all sounds great! But as I hear that ad in one ear, the still, small voice of the Lord is whispering in my other ear. It was a teachable moment that forever changed how one looks at a particular thing. As I’m thinking all of this through very carefully, my thoughts are:

A new marble countertop is lovely, but do you know the floor underneath the cabinets on which the countertop rests is uneven? Don’t set an egg on the new marble countertop because it’ll just roll onto the floor. The new six-panel door at the entry to the spare bedroom is beautiful, but it still closes on its own when you don’t want it to because the foundation is not level. The carpet is beautiful, but the floor underneath still squeaks because the underlayment is loose and not nailed down securely and correctly. Yes, that quick transformation they’re declaring to be achievable may be achievable in some homes, but more than likely, in most homes, mine included, it would be too good to be true.

We want a quick fix on our lives, too. We want everything transformed now! And with a minimum of fuss and discomfort. It won’t cost much either, will it?

When God comes into our hearts and transforms us, He goes directly to the basement or the crawl space underneath our house. He goes directly to the foundation. If the foundation isn’t rooted, grounded, stable, and solid, nothing built above or on it will stand or have any lasting value. He goes to our very core. If something is wrong at our core (our foundation) when He is making us anew and fixing what is wrong, it hurts to replace it!

God is transforming us when we’re experiencing a trial or going through a challenging situation. He is bolstering, leveling, sanding rough edges and surfaces, and nailing down everything to make us stable, solid, and sure.

God is building a temple, preparing His dwelling place. He wants to accomplish His will and fulfill His plan in us.

“I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2, emphasis added).

We can be sure, that unlike the quick-fix, low-cost companies, God’s work in us and on us is ongoing, can be painful, and will cost us our will, way, thoughts, and plans. But when He finishes His work in us, we are transformed into His likeness. We become the proof of what He accomplishes. He reveals us as a model of His power and majesty.

We are a model home. The perfect example of what God’s dwelling place (His home) should be. Now that’s a transformation!

PRAYER:  Jesus, come into my heart. Make my foundation strong. Work in and on me until I am transformed, until the world around me sees Your glory and majesty in me and through me. In Jesus’ name, I pray.