What’s Behind Those Walls?
The amount of advice and “how to” information available on television, in newspapers and magazines on how to renovate or remodel your home seems as widely varied as every living situation one could imagine. Depending on your needs, the answer might be to purchase certain equipment, hire certain experts, or to pack up and move from the house you’re in to the gorgeous home of your dreams.
It’s very entertaining to sit back on my comfy couch with a cup of coffee and watch a program in which an optimistic homeowner ventures into the unknown territory of home purchase and/or renovation. There is considerable tension in choosing the home, agreeing to purchase terms and deciding on what the new look will be. Then comes the big day — demolition time! Sledgehammers are swung, walls start coming down, flooring is pulled up, and the dumpster out on the driveway quickly begins to fill. Then there’s the “Oops” moment. In the midst of enthusiastically tearing out a wall, a problem is discovered. The variety is nearly endless — mold, dry rot, asbestos, termites, improperly done wiring or plumbing, or beams that don’t connect where they should. Much head-shaking and muttering about what this is going to do to the budget ensues, but eventually a solution is reached, both structurally and financially.
It occurred to me that the surprises found as part of a house renovation aren’t that different from what might be found inside the walls that we build around our inner selves. Every one of us needs to protect the vulnerable person we are on the inside, that person who has fears and pains and uncertainties. We can’t let those weaknesses be out there in the bright light of day where anybody can see them! If those structural deficiencies or poorly done improvements are visible, that nice smooth wall, with a fresh coat of paint won’t provide much protection. We don’t feel it’s safe to let just anyone see what we carefully keep hidden behind our walls.
However, through good news of the Gospel we learn that we are released from needing to maintain those walls. Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we receive salvation and through God’s forgiveness and everlasting love, our walls are made unnecessary. God gives us the strength to stand up and break free of that which we thought was protecting us but was actually imprisoning us.
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we hear these words of freedom: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God . . . For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works,” (Ephesians 2:8a, 10a).
This promise is our solid foundation, and upon it we can build a home where all are welcome, our walls are straight and true, and there are big, beautiful windows to let in the light of God’s love.
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers