August 14th

Grace Full Living

Ephesians 4:25 - 5:2a



I have already shared with most of you that Richard and I probably watch waaaayyy too much HGTV. Although we lean toward the budget-friendly home makeover programs, recently we have been watching a program called, “Generation Renovation.” In this program, people take a variety of structures not normally considered “home material,” and spend what seems to me to be a fortune making them not only into homes, but fabulous homes! Churches, banks, barns, even old tugboats go from “drab” to “fab.”

A renovation segment normally begins with the proud renovators telling how they found their future home. “Oh, we were just driving along this lovely country road, and saw this old, rundown mill house. We decided to stop, and take a look inside. As we opened the mold-covered door, it fell off its rusted hinges. The scurrying of rats greeted us as we stepped inside. Much of the roof had caved in, and you could even see through parts of the floor to the stagnant pool of water below that probably fueled the old mill’s wheel a hundred years ago. It was at that moment that we just knew that this was our dream home!”

Of course by this point, I am thinking these people need professional help. Yet, I am intrigued, and continue to watch the program. And I must admit, watching the progress of once abandoned structures become inviting and spectacular homes is a sight to behold. The “before” and “after” pictures shown during and the end of each segment of this program are a testament to what vision, creativity, blood, sweat, tears--and yes, money--can accomplish.

So, using our passage in Ephesians, what I would like to do this morning is look at our lives as sort of a renovation project in progress. The subject today? How we can move from a life lived in darkness and spiritual bondage to a renovated “grace full” life bathed in the light of the Holy Spirit.

Now, what is normally the first thing that happens with most renovation projects? Well, we normally have to clear a lot of stuff out of the space we plan to renovate. For example, on a recent installment of “Generation Renovation,” when a couple decided to renovate an old bank into their residence, they had to clear out all the adding machines, typewriters—yes, typewriters and not computers—and a ton of other stuff that the previous owners had simply left behind. And although some customers had never picked up their valuables kept in safe deposit boxes, unfortunately, no huge sums of money were left behind.

Like the beginning of almost all renovation projects, the renovation of our spiritual lives begins with all kinds of happiness and anticipation. We accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we join an open and affirming community of faith, and we are ready to go! So, notice right off the bat that our spiritual renovations are not lone ranger projects. These projects are community projects.

We are filled with hope that our lives are changing in positive ways. There are, however, some items that may need to be cleared from our lives for our life renovation project to stay on track. So, what are some of those items?

Well, dishonesty definitely has to go. Scripture tells us to speak the truth to one another. Please note: we are to speak the truth to one another, and not about one another to other people. And there’s a big difference between the two. Amen?

In the culture in which Ephesians was written, truth was a matter of relativity. If it benefited a person to tell the truth—in other words, if telling the truth meant the person could receive more money, power, or prestige—then truth was a good thing. But, if telling the truth could somehow dishonor that same person, well, then telling the truth could be seen as foolish.

But, if we call ourselves “Christians,” we are to speak the truth in love to one another. Why? We are to speak the truth to one another because we are members of one another—we are a community. Before, we were living solely for ourselves, but now, as a member of a community of faith, we live as part of a body of believers. If we allow the cancer of dishonesty to enter our body and do not address it, soon the entire body will suffer. Left unchecked, this cancer has been known to destroy entire bodies of believers, as well. So, there is no room for dishonesty in our spiritual homes. Amen?

Something else that needs to be cleared out in our spiritual renovation is inappropriate anger. Please note I said, “inappropriate.” I say that because thee is a time and a place for anger. There are plenty of places in the Bible where God was angry at injustice. Jesus was angry at what he saw as the desecration of the Temple, and threw a major fit! There is also the story of the forgiving ruler who was angry at his unforgiving servant. So, anger does have its place.

But anger that is thoughtlessly expressed can hurt people and destroy relationships. Therefore, it is not good for the community. Anger that is stored up can cause us to become bitter and destroy us from within—not only spiritually, but also physically. So, in the renovation of our spiritual lives, maybe we can look at anger like one of those items left behind that, with some polishing and removal of the sharp edges can actually be a beneficial part of our newly renovated spiritual life.

Now, while anger can be rehabilitated, it is one of those projects that must be dealt with in a very timely manner. It can’t be like that old table that has been sitting in the garage for the last 5 years just waiting for us to clean it up, collecting dust and becoming a home for rodents all the while. In a way, anger is much like dishonesty. That is, left alone, it can destroy individuals and communities of faith. Whatever we need to do, whether it is prayer, support groups, therapy, or a combination of all these things, it is absolutely, completely, and totally necessary for us to renovate our anger. If we don’t, our whole spiritual house is at risk.

Renovation projects of all types require that everyone pull his or her own weight. They are team efforts. If it is a home renovation, we may have professionals of all types working with us in areas where we have no clue how to proceed. If it is a spiritual renovation we are talking about, we may have pastors, teachers, and long-time Christian sisters and brothers lifting us up. But as we grow, each of us has her or his own talents to add not only to their own spiritual renovations, but also to the building up of the community of faith of which they are a part.

When we don’t share of our time, talent, and financial gifts—when we always only the beneficiaries of the gifts others share—we are, in effect, stealing from the community. Remember: life lived in community is a life lived in relationship, and that means it is a life of give and take.

Renovation projects can work our nerves, too. They can be long and exhausting. And since they are community projects, everyone has an opinion about how best to complete them. Amen? It is easy for us to criticize, too. But when we unfairly criticize ourselves and one another, rather than clear the clutter from our lives, we just “rearrange the junk,” so to speak.

Once we let go of these behaviors, however, once we have cleared the work area, so to speak, we are free. We are free to build one another up. We are free to work together to help one another with our personal spiritual renovations, as well as with the spiritual renovations of our communities of faith. We are free to be forgiving and kind to ourselves and to one another.

When we toss out the useless junk of the past that clutters our lives with bitterness, anger, and malice, we are free to experience the freedom and warmth of a new life. We are freed from a life filled with darkness to live a new “grace full” life---a new life renovated with Jesus Christ as its foundation.

Scripture tells us that God so loved the world that God sent the very best—Jesus Christ, so that whoever believes in Jesus may not perish, but may have everlasting life. In response to this amazing love, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, may we be imitators of this kind of love—giving the very best of ourselves to God, and to one another, as we grow into the Generation of Spiritual Renovation that God would have us to be.

Oh, and if you just so happen to find a huge, broken down structure that you feel just has to be your next personal residence, please feel free to call me. I have the names and numbers of some excellent therapists you might need.

God bless you and amen.