From www.upperroom.org/devotional today
The Renovator
Even when we were dead through our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ.
THE shack my wife and I had bought in Tasmania required major renovations. Still, the place was ours. We replaced rotten timber and old plaster and removed debris. We repainted the place. It took time, effort, and money, but it became our home.
It struck me that God does something like this for us. God bought us with the blood Jesus shed on Calvary. Though we were worse than a shack (according to Eph. 2:1-3 and Rom. 5:6-11), God saw the beauty of a temple in us.
When God gave us the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, we needed a lot of renovating. God has a master plan by which to work, a goal for each of us. We are to be transformed into Christ’s likeness. (See 2 Cor. 3:18.)
Throughout scripture we read stories of God’s renovations in the heart, mind, priorities, and relationships of people. Similar replacing, repairing, and rebuilding can happen within us. But unlike us with our shack, God requires our cooperation to achieve that transformation. Yet God is gracious and patient with us. The result glorifies God, blesses others, and makes us eternally grateful.
Raymond N. Hawkins (Tasmania, Australia)
