This house was the childhood home of my dad. The thought occurred to me, why not list this with VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner)? A pre-loved, charmingly aged home, filled with personality. A bird’s nest on the prairie, where the deer and the antelope play. Drink from a cistern that has milked the purest of waters from an endless sky. Kick back in the evening, and marvel in the glory of God’s starry host. Listen in peaceful walks of solitude, while the wind inspires sonnets of poetry that honors God’s creation. What do you think?
A picture is worth a thousand words. This house is no longer safe nor fit for human habitation. It is a condemned building due to structural damage, code violations, and infestation. This house was home to only one other occupant after my Uncle Ernie moved to Medicine Hat. A poor skunk was found dead in the basement.
Thank goodness for building codes, but if your personhood were a house – have you ever felt condemned? There is a jurisprudence (or justice) ring to condemnation. It is the exact sentence handed down when the due process of law establishes guilt. As in a building, someone is authorized by codified and just rules to deem someone else, on the basis of conduct or character – unfit.
God’s Law is especially a codified unchanging norm of His will written down as the 10 Commandments on paper and upon our hearts. It is His standard that judges the prudence of our character, the health of our souls, and the fitness expected as those made in the image of God. And, if our personhood is a home: sin broke away our foundations, rotted away our floor joists, and wrecked as we are – it’s curtains for us.
Besides, the home of our personhood contends with infestation. We are no strangers to the condemning self. That is: self-reproach, self-accusation, self-blame, self-disproval, and self-scorn. When we do not live up to the standards of what we believe is “right,” we fail by doing what is “wrong.” And, the most insidious form of dishonesty is self-deception, which is based on the self-seeking of our self-love. That’s the dead skunk in our basements.
This is when we gain a little help from our understanding of real estate. There is this slogan that describes the saleability of a piece of property: location, location, location. A highly visible spot is a top factor for success, which maximizes profitability through high customer traffic, accessibility, reduced operational costs, and proximity to suppliers and a skilled workforce.
However you view the home that is you, however infested you feel you may be – your personhood as a child of God rests and IS secure in location, location, location. St. Paul wrote to the church in Rome: “There is now no condemnation for those who are IN Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1).
You are highly visible in the love of God, and “location” determines your present reality. In God’s eyes you are not deserted or abandoned, nor desolate and away from His touch and presence. You are IN Christ. If your personhood is like a home, you are not less condemned, nor should you expect to be condemned. You’re simply declared – not condemned.
There’s only one solution that renders you not condemned. SomeONE had to be condemned in your place. God, our heavenly Father, accepts Jesus’ condemnation on the cross on your behalf. And, your proximity to God is measured by how the Holy Spirit dwells withIN you.
Your heavenly Father, through the death and resurrection of His beloved Son along with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, re-established the Law’s true character to bring life to you. You are then set free from the tyranny of sin and death. This is when “those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (Rom 8:5).
The Spirit of life makes you pristine and pure in God’s eyes. As your personhood is a house, you have undergone a massive renovation. Jesus’ righteousness is now your own; given, shared, breathed into you by the Holy Spirit. You are fit and healthy in soul. Where Christ dwells, no other power can have any say. Death has no claim. Condemnation has no vacancy, because it can only stay where it belongs: on the cross of Christ.
So, how about another VRBO listing that describes your personhood INdwelt by the Holy Spirit? Welcome to a loved, charmingly matured resident filled with Spirit-blessed personality. Embrace a restored villa that ushers forth living water that springs up to eternal life. A spacious living room where the fire of God’s Spirit penetrates the heart and soul. In the battle between dark and light, this home is a force for good that welcomes the stranger and comforts the hurting.
Thanks be to you, Lord Jesus. •
— By Pastor Neil Stern
Grace Lutheran Church, Edmonton AB