A homeowner was flipping a home to sell. One evening, vandals broke in and decimated the house. Doors were busted in. Windows were shattered. The drywall was ripped apart. They had even busted the pipes and ripped the wiring out of the wall. The house was a complete disaster and, to top it all off, it had foundation problems. The man no longer had the budget to remodel the home again.

In an attempt to cut his losses, the man decided to sell the home, but the condition scared away buyer after buyer. For months the home sat. Finally, a prospective buyer came to check out the house. In a desperate attempt to sell, the homeowner offered to put thousands into the remodel to help get the buy started. The buyer responded, “I’ll take the house, but forget about the repairs. I don’t want the building; I want the site. If I start from scratch, I can create the most beautiful home in the neighborhood.”

Far too often in life, we have tried to repair ourselves. But like many before us, Satan has found a way into our lives and caused great damage. Perhaps we’ve tried to fix it ourselves. Repairing the cracks and leaks. Looking to the world for answers to our foundation problems. In the end, we come to the inevitable conclusion that we need help. This remodel is impossible by ourselves. Too much sin. Too many flaws. Not nearly enough to fix everything.

Then someone comes with an offer. He can fix everything. But it requires a complete tearing down. Building everything from scratch. If we will let Him, He will transform us into something truly magnificent. Paul explains:

“For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf…Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 17).

Christians are the ultimate renovation. At one time we were rotten, stained, and tainted. We were broken and worthless. Our foundations were in terrible shame. Thankfully, God saw the value in us and bought us (1 Corinthians 6:20). He tore down the old disgusting and sinful home we had made for ourselves. He gave us a new foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11). He then transformed us into something wonderful (Acts 2:38).

How awesome it is to be a Christian! Let’s never forget about the pitiful state we were in, and let’s praise God for giving us a new life in Him!

Brett Petrillo