I have always loved old houses. There’s just something about them. But I married a man who loved newer houses so our home was on the newer side.
I’m remembering the experience of looking at an old house – twice in fact. The first time through was a cursory once over. But the second time, I began to dig a little deeper. The dining room particularly had my attention. It was the only room in the house without wood floors and so, it was only natural for the questions to begin swirling in my head.
The realtor replied to my questions explaining that she truly had no idea what lay hidden under the linoleum. I asked permission to poke around a bit and discovered a sub floor had been placed down upon which the linoleum then was glued on top.
Old houses versus new houses. The experience brought some thoughts:
- God loves us – even in our brokenness. God does not look at us as the sum of all which needs fixing. He does not let our brokenness determine his thoughts towards us. He doesn’t even have a list of all that needs to be renovated before He can live in us.
- He comes to live in us just as we are. God knows the work needing to be done will take time. Our God takes the renovations carefully and thoughtfully, knowing that we can only take so much. He patiently does the transformation. He is slow to sand, hammer, and refinish so that He repairs and restores without further damage.
- He sees us as a work in progress. He knows we will always need a bit of work. He is able to look beyond the broken, the worn, and ugly parts of our lives and see what we can be. The day the work is complete is the day He calls us home. Then and only then, before our God, will we be perfect.
All of this has made me realize how much I enjoy watching renovation programs, where at the end the house is flipped, or sold.
“There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the day Christ Jesus appears.” (Philippians 1:6, The Message)
Our God is not a fix and flip sort of God.
He moves in, stays the course, does the work,
and brings our lives to a flourishing finish.
In this post When God Smiles, Marie Bungard is sure to bring a wonderful and encouraging reminder – our God delights in us and looks to delight us. You won’t want to miss this post!
Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you.
**This is an edited post from 2016.
Image by Sabine from Pixabay
I’m so thankful for all these things—that God loves us in spite of all that is wrong in us, that He’s patient, that He doesn’t overwhelm us with everything that needs to change at once, but works on us a little at a time. And that He’ll finish what He started and not abandon us as too much or too hard.
Amen. He is constant and unchanging, which leaves me deeply grateful each day. And stay cool this week!
What I might see as a wash out and a failure, God sees as “a work in progress.” I’m endlessly grateful for God’s redemptive and rehabilitative stance toward my inconsistent progress.
That is so it, Michele. We are inconsistent and He is ever constant. Well said!
Sometimes The Message knocks it right out of the park, doesn’t it!
A flourishing finish indeed. Please, Lord! By Your grace!
Comment *❤️ Joining you in that prayer, Linda. May the Lord grant it for us all!
Joanne, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this post, especially your closing scripture and quote:
“There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the day Christ Jesus appears.” (Philippians 1:6, The Message)
Our God is not a fix and flip sort of God.
He moves in, stays the course, does the work,
and brings our lives to a flourishing finish.
I so agree with Linda Stoll in her previous comment about The Message paraphrase really capturing the essence of this verse, with the powerful alliteration “flourishing finish.” This really resonates with me, as a 73-year-old walking one-day-at-a-time toward my own “flourishing finish” when I see my Savior face-to-Face, leaning on Romans 8:24-25 Living Bible: “We are saved by trusting. And trusting means looking forward to getting something we don’t yet have—for a man who already has something doesn’t need to hope and trust that he will get it. But if we must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened yet, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently.”
Many blessings to you!
We call the marks on antiques patina. I trust God turns my marks into a lovely patina too. 🙂
I was thinking this morning about how we are a work in progress, perfect timing!
My husband is an architect and at the beginning of his career his focus was restoration of old homes and he’d often comment on the history each represented as well as the lives and memories that each held. He always considered it sacred work. Connecting those thoughts to your post and the Philippians verse adds another dimension! God knows what is hidden, what is broken and what is a work in progress and He always meets us where we are!
A great illustration of renovation/transformation, Joanne.
I too have enjoyed watching those home-renovation shows and thought what fun it would be to be part of such a project. / Your conclusion is spot-on, Joanne! Praise God he “is not a fix and flip sort of God. He moves in, stays the course, does the work, and brings our lives to a flourishing finish.” Such encouraging news–hallelujah! (And thank you!)
Joanne, I grew up in an old house that my dad remodeled one room at a time over many years, so of course I love this post! I am especially thankful that God “is able to look beyond the broken, the worn, and ugly parts of our lives and see what we can be.” ❤️