Home Repair Projects
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Summertime is filled with home repair projects. Everything we own eventually wears out. Manufacturers design products with planned obsolescence in mind. The list of things needing repair is long. One fix-it project is on everyone’s list. Find out what it is.
My wife and I had our front door replaced this past week. The seal around the glass broke and the glass became cloudy. We either had to replace the window or the entire door. Replacing the entire door was more cost-effective. The contractor’s work is now complete. It looks great, at least for now!
Repairing our front door reminded me of “The Parable of the Broken Door,” that God placed on my heart back in 2012. That parable became both the symbol for Broken Door Ministries, and for Joseph Galloway’s book, “The Broken Door.” If you have not yet read this book, do yourself a favor and do so soon.
Broken Door Ministries and Joe’s book are both built upon the reality that all Christians struggle with sin everyday. Despite our sinfulness, God still calls us to lead others to Christ. I end each week’s podcast with these words, “Be the door, no matter how broken you may be, through which others can enter to encounter Christ.”
The explanation of the Parable of the Broken Door points out that we are the broken doors in constant need of repair. The weathering and deterioration of the door is the sin in our life. The rain of selfishness and the wind of worldly concerns will always beat on our door. We require endless sanding, painting, planing, and puttying. We must not wait for perfection before leading others to Christ.
Jesus is the one and only perfect door that leads to the Father. We, even in our broken condition, must allow others to enter through us, as doors, so that they can encounter the perfect door inside of us.
We can become worn down by the battle to overcome our recurring sinfulness. We can even feel defeated when we continually give in to some “pet” sin. We can feel unworthy to lead others to Christ when we ourselves keep falling. We must never stop trying to overcome sin, but we must never berate ourselves, or lose hope, simply because we do not achieve perfection.
As Christians, we are all called to holiness. But, at the heart of our Christian faith is the understanding that holiness is not something we achieve through our own efforts; holiness is a gift of God’s grace. As Christians, we sometimes pursue the ever-elusive goal of perfection. Unfortunately, we often try to accomplish this based on our own efforts rather than our dependence on God.
There is a tendency to fall prey to the false doctrine of Pelagianism. This doctrine was found to be a heresy in the year 418. Pelagianism was a theological position that held that the fall did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace can achieve human perfection. Pelagianism was decisively condemned. Perfection is not within our grasp on this side of death.
We must always recognize that the primary force that transforms our lives is the love we receive from the Lord, which opens our hearts and enables us to love others as Christ has loved us. Holiness is not about perfection, but about allowing ourselves to be transfigured by God’s love. Our weakness and sinfulness do not disqualify us from the call to holiness, but rather highlight the power of God’s grace to work through us.
Even in the midst of our human weakness, God does not turn away from us. He grants us the possibility of repentance and return to the life of grace. We often go astray. Sometimes we even lose hope in God’s love. Sometimes we succumb to, and cooperate with, the powers of evil. The good news is that God does not turn away from us when we sin. His love and mercy constantly grant us the possibility of repenting.
God’s love and grace are more powerful than any of our sins. We are called to be witnesses to His transformative power. All of us have our limitations. Jesus, working through His Holy Spirit, transforms our misery and constantly renews us. We must surrender our hearts and wills to Christ. This is not easy. But it is precisely in this surrender of our freedom to God’s will that we find the power to become living witnesses of Christ’s love.
Back to where we started. It is summertime. It’s time for home repair projects. No other project is more important than tending to our need for spiritual repair. My wife and I did not attempt to replace the door ourselves. We hired a professional contractor. Likewise, we cannot fix ourselves. Jesus is the master carpenter who is ready to perform our spiritual repairs. Let’s surrender ourselves to Him.
We are born with a proclivity towards sin. We must never be discouraged by our weaknesses. We cannot allow recurring sin to cause despair. We cannot rely on our own strength. We must open our hearts to the transformative power of God’s love. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to work within us, so that we might become living witnesses of the Gospel, brimming with the love of Christ.
Heavenly Father, I am broken and in need of constant repair. I know that I can’t wait to be perfect before leading others to Jesus. My imperfections and dependence on your Son give me a compelling story to share with other broken people. Help me lead them to your Son. Lord, begin my repairs today!
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AMDG
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Have you witnessed a miracle or experienced a miracle in your life? If so, please share your experience below.
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Today’s readings and story hit home. My summer home is reaching 19 years old and I am finding things to be worn out. First was the refrigerator and now the hot water heater. All I can do is pray that it is repairable..
Pat
Thankfully unlike some of our appliances, we human beings are always repairable, if only we allow Jesus to do the repair work.
Brian