From the Inside Out

…offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God…. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:1-2

I’d patched it twice—a dab of spackling and a dollop of paint. I noticed it again while dusting the mantle. That small crack in the wall had returned. As I poked around, I discovered additional soft spots surrounding the crack. This could not be good! Bob-the-handy-man agreed. It could be water damage, dry rot or, even worse, termite damage.

Bob arrived with a ladder, crowbar and a tarp. Within a short time, he’d ripped out the wall behind the mantle all the way to a set of French doors. I could literally walk right out to the patio from the living room! Termites had munched away unnoticed for quite some time. I’d played with granddaughters and sipped tea for months right beside these little critters, oblivious to their damaging activity. Then it happened. The erosion deep within the framework of the walls worked its way to the outer surface. A crack appeared.

Sin often works the very same way damaging the recesses of our hearts and minds in places unseen by others. With time, though, the inevitable happens. The decay begins to openly appear in our words, actions, emotions or relationships. If only Bob-the-handyman could stop by for a couple of hours to solve the problem with a simple fix! The only real solution, though, is having the Creator of our soul work from the inside of our heart and mind. Confession, repentance and permission for our Lord to clean out the mess and renew our minds offers the only real resolution. I wrote a hefty check to Bob. Our Lord does His repair work for free! Even though salvation is free to us, it cost Jesus His life. God also offers forgiveness for on-going sin as part of that free gift of salvation. We call the big word for that process “sanctification.” I like to think of it as repair work from the inside out!

Thank you, Father, for caring about those hidden parts of my thought and emotional life. Teach me how to give you on-going access to the damaged areas so I can know your healing wholeness.

Linda L.