Flipping and Religion

My husband and I buy fixer upper houses, remodel them and hopefully (!) sell them for a profit.  It’s hard work and nearly not as glamourous as TV makes it appear to be.

In deciding which house will be our next project, we usually do a walk-through of the house, looking for problem areas, like sags in the floors or walls, stains on the ceiling, and plumbing/electrical issues.  During demo, we still have run across surprises, but so far, our conservative decision making has kept us out of trouble - for the most part.

It’s been interesting to observe, however, what happens to houses that we DON’T get.  We sometimes notice them back on the market in a few weeks.  Generally speaking, those “re-habbed” houses fall into two categories:

1.  Those who’ve had very minor updates- paint to cover the ceiling stains and flooring to cover up flooring issues.  They look good on the outside.

2. Those who’ve had someone who took pride in presenting a good product:  structural issues corrected, roofs replaced to take care of leaks that caused the ceiling stains, and overall a complete remodel.

There is a parallel here between religion and relationship.  When we decide to go to church, we sometimes are dealing only with the cosmetic - we make ourselves “appear” to look good, but no real lasting change was made to our life.

Then there are those who are serious about following Jesus - to have a deep walk with Him.  You can notice the changes the Master Carpenter made.  It is not enough for Him to simply cover up the sagging floor; He digs into your very foundation and replaces the rotten structural elements.  It’s not enough for Him to simply put a coat of paint on your ceilings; He finds the source of those stains and fixes the root problem.  He makes sure your entire house is sound structurally and its systems function the way they should.

These type of “renovations” take time.  And they can be painful.  And messy.  But the end product is something to behold.  All who have been watching the work can see that the Master Carpenter has been at work in your life!

You can tell who is following Jesus, because change starts to happen.  

So do you want surface changes?  You can do that yourself and will still have to deal with a sagging foundation or leaky roof in the future.  You’re just putting off the repairs needed.  It will be more expensive and extensive the longer you wait.

Or do you want lasting deep changes?  The ones that stand the test of time, and where your house is lovely to be in?  Then choose Jesus!  

Choose your carpenter wisely.