Heart Renovation

I like watching home renovation tv shows much more than experiencing a renovation on my own home.

When you watch a show like “Fixer Upper,” it is amazing how fast the transformation happens. Over the course of one hour you can see them buy a house, tear out everything that is unwanted, and have a totally new home at the end. Watching this kind of renovation is stress free. It doesn’t cost you anything. And you don’t have to worry about it being done right.

Living through your own home renovation is very different. It doesn’t seem to matter if it is a major or a minor renovation, the work always disrupts life in the home. It is anything but stress free. We wish it could be done quicker and on budget. If only life was more like “Fixer Upper.”

The difference between these two experiences is clear. You don’t see all the behind-the-scene activity that goes into making the tv show. And you don’t have to live through it in real-time. The condensed version looks so much better, but it isn’t reality.

When it comes to God working in our lives, we often wish the process was much quicker as well. It is easy to look at someone else’s life and see how God has transformed them. The renovation of their heart looks simple and easy.

Scripture says that God is going to renovate your life. Ephesians 3:16-17 explains how the Holy Spirit will work in your life so that Christ may dwell in your heart.

D.A. Carson compared this process to renovating a home. Though the home buyer completely owns the home, it doesn’t meet their needs and tastes right away. So, the home buyer will start to tear down walls and rip out the kitchen. From the outside, it looks like the house is being destroyed. But the end result is a house that the home buyer loves to live in and call home.

This is what God does in our lives.

The idea of God renovating your heart might sound great at the beginning. But then you realize that he is going to start making changes in your life. Some are small. Some and quite large. Sometimes it can feel incredibly painful, and it can be confusing if you don’t know that the changes are for your own good.

The renovation that God does in our lives can be compared to King Josiah’s discovery of the Book of the Law. You can read the full account of this in 2 Kinds 22-23 and 2 Chronicles 34-35. Josiah is having the Temple renovated, and they discover the Book of Law. Once Josiah reads the Law for the first time, he realizes how far they have strayed from the commands of God. So, he renews the covenant with the Lord and begins to take down all the idols and purify the land of Israel.

It wasn’t an easy job. It would have been easier for Josiah to keep doing what he had always done. But once confronted by the truths found in Scripture, he knew he needed to make a change. Even if it was uncomfortable and costly.

This is what Jesus wants to do in your life. He wants to purify and renovate your heart. Are you willing to let him make the necessary changes? Even if it is painful, are you willing to give up your old ways? It might not happen in an hour like a tv show, but the process is worth it in the end.