Dr. Tom Pace

Genesis 1:31
God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.  

Romans 7:19-20  
For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.   

My wife loves to watch HGTV.  The network is a series of television shows about people buying old houses and hiring clever and creative experts to fix them up. When the work is finished, they stand there amazed and in tears at the transformation of the home. I must admit, they do some pretty cool stuff. Generally, these old houses have hardwood floors that have been covered by orange shag carpet or a beautiful porch that has fallen into serious disrepair.  The previous owners seem to have made some pretty bad decisions over the years in decorating and maintenance, but “the bones are really good!”  The secret, according to the shows’ protagonists, is to find the beauty buried in the original home and bring it out for the rest of the world to see. 

The Bible tells us that the architect and builder created us to be not just good, but very good.  That goodness is present because we were shaped to be a reflection, a testimony to the goodness of God, whose substance is pure goodness.  But boy, the sin that lived in us led to some bad choices in our decorating and maintenance over the years!  

Goodness is the very essence of God’s character.  And yes, believe it or not, it is the very essence of your character, too.  When Jesus buys our lives, the Holy Spirit moves in and begins the renovation process.  The Spirit strips us down to the good bones that the original builder gave us, and does a complete renovation, in order that we be a reflection of our architect’s glorious vision.  Sometimes, we need to be taken all the way down all the way to the studs, and it isn’t always pleasant, with sledgehammers and crowbars involved.  I think they call that “demo time.”  Other times, the makeover work is great fun.  There are often setbacks along the way, unforeseen challenges that affect the renovation schedule.  And unlike the television shows, the transformation doesn’t happen in thirty minutes, or even days or weeks.  Rather, it takes a lifetime.   But the Spirit continues the work, and the good vision of the original architect becomes more and more evident, more and more beautiful.

And the finished product – wow.  Just wow.  The Holy Spirit stands back with head cocked and says “indeed.  It is not just good, but very good.” 

Prayer:
Holy Spirit, take me over. Do your work in me, that your goodness can shine through me today. Amen.