Extreme Makeover Home Edition

What does God have to do with the television show, Extreme Makeover Home Edition?  Have you ever watched an episode?  It’s addictive.  You take a deserving family that has a run down house and has experienced some kind of tragedy. 

Ty and the team of 10 come in and find out more about the family: the tragedy and the dreams; the likes and dislikes; the hopes and the fears.  Ty has a way of getting to the issues of the heart and is able to draw out a strength that the family often doesn’t know is present.  Then they plan a way to radically change their lives and get the community involved.  This plan works by sending the family away on a vacation for a week, while their old house gets demolished and a new one is built - in 7 Days.  But this is only possible if the family agrees to journey through the process.  It’s an amazing show to watch.

A Modern-Day Parable

Saturday, I began thinking: this would make a very good parable for what God wants to do in our lives.

The bible talks about our lives being like a house.  “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5)  

And every house must weather the storms of life.  God sees the issues we face.  God sees our tragedy AND ALSO the dreams He’s placed within us.  He comes to visit us through Christ.  He delves into our hearts and draws out the deep issues.  He gives us hope about what the future holds and then - if we give him permission and access - He starts demolishing our “old” house.  Why?  Because we can’t live there anymore.  Our old life and way of doing things just doesn’t measure up to the future that He wants to give us.

So He doesn’t renovate us, he comes in and demolishes our fallen reality and begins to build a new house - on the  solid foundation of His Word and Spirit.

On the show… when the family shouts, “Move that bus!!!”  And they see a house beyond their wildest dreams and then get to go in and tour each room.  Do you see their overwhelmed expressions of joy and excitement?  Do you see their tears of gratitude when it begins to sink in that the new house is theirs to keep?  And not only is it theirs to keep, but the morgage has been paid and money has been set aside to help the family out with day to day things.

Could you ever imagine any family wanting to go back to the old house?  No.

Well, Jesus Christ does this for us.  When we submit our lives to Him in repentence, He comes into our hearts and begins to create a new house - inside and out.  It will mean leaving the brokenness that defined your existence behind in the rubble.  It will take some time.  There will be times when it is extremely stressful. But in the end it will all be worth it.

A new future awaits you - if you agree to the Extreme Makeover: Christ Edition.

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