Two years ago, a passing hurricane dropped a tree onto the roof of a nearby house. Not just a few low-hanging branches, but an entire tree, resting perpendicular to the ridgeline from the backyard to the front. It was a tragedy, and the neighborhood grieved for the homeowners.
Thankfully, it didn’t remain a tragedy. Once the bustle of road clearing and insurance adjusting rolled through, we spotted a mighty crane jutting above the treetops. Down came the rooftop tree to be sectioned and stacked into a large truck while the branches became woodchips.
With the tree out of the way, a team of roofers tackled the damaged roofline while a dozen friends and neighbors carried ruined sheetrock and soggy furniture out to the curb. It was tedious, painstaking, unpleasant work that seemed never to be over. Wet carpets, furniture, clothing, valuables, appliances, spoiled food, and more. The mess occupied thirty feet of sidewalk.
Thankfully, once the house was rid of its ruined and smelly items, it felt like that first glimpse of pink in the eastern sky when you’ve been awake all night in your cold, wet tent. A SERVPRO team showed up the next morning with their bright green machines. They faced into that house like conquering warriors taking the hill. Close on their heels were the electricians, carpenters, a Sheetrocking crew, painters, new appliances, a truck full of furniture, and, in stages, garbage trucks to remove the moldy mounds of debris.
If you were to pass that house today, you’d never guess its history. In that way it serves as an example of what the biblical term sanctification means. When someone chooses to follow Jesus Christ, God begins a restoration process like no other. Harmful character qualities like enmity, envy, malice, greed, jealousy, hatred, and strife give way to traits like love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.1
Each of us is somewhere in this process, and our only obligation in the process is to let the renovation proceed!
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