renovation

I've been doing a little house work lately. Renovation is hard work. But at the end of the day you are glad that you did it. It is a meaningful process. Deep down we know that we are meant to undertake this work and not simply remain the way we are. We are to manage and steward this earth and our possessions as part of our task as image-bearers of God. In this work, there are hints of the redemption that God is unfolding in all of creation. He will make all things new. And so we renovate, whether its our homes or still better, our souls. Looking again to I Thessalonians, Paul affirms these believers for their love towards each other. But he does not leave them there. He implores them to uncover deeper reserves of this love and to abound ever increasingly in it. Renovation is hard work. It means excelling more and more. It means being established on a firm foundation. But it is the work that we do naturally when we pay attention to the grace and goodness of our Lord.