Out and About 7 Helping Others Home

[HKHaugan]

There is a very positive show on TV called ‘Extreme Makeover’ where a needy family deserving a better home is taken away for a vacation week and a new home rebuilt on their property while they are away.  A limousine brings the family back and stops next to a bus.  There is a welcoming crowd cheering and the bus blocks the family’s view so they can’t see the new home that awaits them.  The crowd starts shouting, “Move that bus, move that bus, move that bus…”  When it is moved they react as anyone would to the beautiful sight of a new house freely given them.  Their eyes widen and light up; they are speechless and overcome by the sight.  They are then led through a re-landscaped path and yard to the front door and into a gorgeously furnished home with special rooms for each one in the family.  As each one is taken to their respective place in the house there is an overwhelming joy within that bursts out for all to share.  And something takes place that few who see the show really get and that is everyone in the crowd and those watching on TV are so happy for the people who received the blessing that no one is thinking about themselves but only how wonderful the gift is for that family.

 

Folks, that is just a slight feel of what awaits all who believe in Jesus.  Remember how He said, “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.   And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14:2-3).”

 

But that’s not all that happened in the project.  It’s the other part we want to see that makes this personal for each of us.  It’s what took place during the time the family was away.  Three things stand out: the plan, the willingness and the spirit.

 

First, there was an overall plan.  The project needed a designer and an onsite contractor to oversee the construction.  A work crew with different skills had to be gathered and there had to be choices made about the best materials to use and making sure all the building codes were followed.

 

Second, there was the willingness by all involved to take part in something that would lift a family in need to a better life. They were motivated by the desire to help someone else.  That willingness took them out of self-consciousness to being absorbed in a task that would help another person.  Their personal skills were inspired.  Their tasks absorbed them.

 

Third, there was a spirit of togetherness.  Everyone involved in the project seemed to sense they were a part of something much larger than themselves.  They would do whatever it took to get the job done and done right.

 

The point of all this is that we, each of us, are part of an overall plan, an ‘extreme makeover,’ a spiritual ‘makeover’ plan initiated by the Lord God.  Humanity is in need of an extreme makeover from sin to righteousness, evil to good and our broken images restored to His perfection.  The designer is our Heavenly Father.  The contractor is God’s Son Jesus.  The spirit of togetherness is the Holy Spirit.  We are the Spirit-filled work crew called to be in ministries that allow the Father to give new birth to the lost images of God through a relationship with the Lord Jesus.  As they are brought into the family of God, the Body of Christ, it is His spiritual gifts working in the power of the Holy Spirit that grow us together into a maturity that is eternal. 

 

Every day we are called to take the life we have been given and share it with someone else.  If we have the willingness to think spiritually we will be able to see and respond specifically in our daily context by the power and in the power of the Holy Spirit.  It is His specific gifts that enable us to help others realize they have a special homecoming awaiting them as well.  He gives us the gifts necessary to minister in every next moment. 

 

We are never without because we are within.  Thinking spiritually we can see what no one else sees and will be provided with the insight and the strength to help in time of need.  We have been given everything we need to help one another make that final homecoming a reality. This is where spiritual thinking and motivation lead us.  We begin to see in all of Creation reminders, illustrations and analogies that point to the spiritual dimension and our very personal part on it.