Casandra Martin

My son was certain he had spotted the host of a home improvement show while we were out shopping. He begged me to stalk the man around the store, hoping we would get chosen to have our home remodeled on television. While the idea of having a brand new kitchen or bathroom is exciting, I knew that the gentleman who caught my son’s attention was not a home improvement expert. If we were going to remodel, we would have to find another way.

God is in the home renovation business. C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, put it this way. “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

God doesn’t just want to make a couple of repairs. He invests Himself in a complete transformation of our hearts. He rips out the old, ugly, worn, and rotten, building instead a temple worthy of a King. “In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” – Ephesians 2:22

My Jesus Resolution today is to look in the mirror and see a palace in the making. It is easy for me to see the broken pieces, dust, warped places, and dirty corners of my soul. It is hard to imagine my heart being a place grand enough for His glory. God, however, sees me differently. He isn’t looking for a place to live. He is looking for a child to love.