People often renovate their homes. We have a myriad of television shows dedicated to the subject! The most amazing transformations occur in homes that begin in the roughest shape. The truth be told, every home needs renovations, even when well-maintained. Isn’t it true that our faith works in much the same way?
Our personal sense of the Christian faith can easily fall into disrepair through brokenness or neglect. Sometimes doubts drip in our minds like a leaky faucet. Even a well-maintained faith needs ongoing renovations. With the right perspective and some good tools, our faith can be transformed into (and maintained as) something solid, enduring, and beautiful.
Thomas served as one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. He ran into a major renovation moment in John chapter 20. All the other disciples saw Jesus after his resurrection, but Thomas wasn’t there when it happened. He waited a week in need of renovation until Jesus appeared again. Think about the incredible patience and compassion of Jesus in the scene that unfolds next. When he returned, he offered Thomas his nail-scarred hands and spear-pierced side. Then Thomas exclaimed: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)
Just like Thomas, we can find Jesus in the place of doubt, disillusionment, and disbelief and join him on the other side with a faith-filled response: “My Lord and my God!” A perspective focused on Jesus makes for a healthy, successful faith renovation. He comes close, full of compassion, and offers help as he calls us, saying: “Come, follow me.”
Faithful renovations bring questions, doubts, feelings, and personal experiences humbly to the Lord and to orthodox interpretations of the Bible. In so doing, one draws closer to God and more into alignment with the truth. Problems arise not when we ask questions, but when we look in the wrong place for answers.
Many faithful renovations go astray by building on unworthy standards of truth. Our moral intuition, feelings, and cultural atmosphere do not provide a firm foundation to build upon. These shifting standards creep into faith renovations under the guise of a noble pursuit of truth, but they actually elevate themselves (and ourselves) above God, looking down to judge the actions and character of our Creator.
Faith renovations based on our moral intuition, feelings, or cultural influences become something other than Christianity. That’s the sneaky deception at work. Christ sits at the center of Christianity, not ourselves. To put our own experience at the center of the search for truth leaves Christ behind in exchange for a religion of our own making.
I want to encourage you to seek Jesus: the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). He suffered and died for you. He loves you so much. He’s waiting for you in the places where your heart feels troubled and doubts his goodness. Find him there. Reach for his nail-scarred hand. Cozy up to his spear-pierced side.