Lent 2024: God's Rennovation

It was there one day, all but gone the next. One of the finest homes in our neighborhood was purchased by a family with infinite means, and the wrecking crew arrived within minutes of the closing. They (supposedly) hadn’t told their intentions to a soul. It needed too much work, the owners later explained to our local paper. It was easier to start over.

As devastating as it’s been for our town, it’s also seared a lesson into my soul - one particularly fitting as we approach the final days of Lent.

Lent is a season designed by the Church to allow followers to dig deep and address unhealthy spiritual issues as we prepare for Easter. Whether it be greed, jealousy, or some other character defect (as they are called in 12-step recovery circles) or deadly sins (as the Church calls them), Lent is the season to go inside and look at such things. The work is as important, as it is difficult. A person can become overwhelmed and want to quit, but the torn down house down the street has reminded me of a more excellent way.

Yes, there are things within that need repair, but the house is structurally sound. Regardless of all the ways we fall short of who we think we ought to be, the psalmist reminds us we are marvelously made. Being human means we’re imperfect, but it doesn’t mean there’s nothing good in us, nothing God can’t use, nothing He can’t redeem . . . if we let Him.

More than once in my life, I’ve wanted to quit. I’ve wanted to call the wrecking crew and be done with it all, but that’s the easy way out. God’s more interested in renovation than destruction, and we need to be sure we “don’t leave before the miracle happens,” as my friends in recovery circles often chant.

We’re on a journey, and we need to see it through. The end is not a cross; it’s an empty tomb. It’s not death; it’s a renovated, or resurrected, life.