In one of his books, C. S. Lewis tells a parable of
renovating the house of our lives. When we come to Christ, we expect Him to
make some changes in our lives; the plumbing needs repair, the kitchen could do
with a make-over, and that leaky roof needs to be fixed.
But we suddenly find He is tearing down walls, adding turrets
and windows and a general renovation far beyond what we expected. Apparently,
He is not willing to live in the dingy cottage we built for ourselves, and is
building a mansion fit for His kingly abode.
Every
house in our neighbourhood has a double garage. But for many, the vehicles
never see the inside because of the “stuff” residing within. I’ll bet some of
those owners also have paid storage elsewhere to house more “stuff” they never
use!
But as we grow older, we decided to go in the opposite
direction and have downsized to a living space of about 550 square feet in the
lower level of our current house. We knew we would have to dispose of much “stuff”
accumulated over the years after living in spaces three or four times the size.
So a string of garage sales and “Kijiji” offerings took care
of most of what we felt we didn’t need. Now, after the move on Saturday, we
still have more “stuff” than we can accommodate Most will go to another home
that can use it, some will even grace the inside of our trash bin.
I
couldn’t help thinking of a reverse parallel with Lewis’s story. We carry so
much baggage around the world with us, much of which we never use, and more
than we really need, which takes up valuable time, cost, and maintenance,
reducing the effectiveness of our lives.
In the same way, we tend to carry much emotional baggage
with us, resentment, anger, jealousy—you can add your own list—that serves no
useful purpose and mars our ability to live in the gracious and graceful way
God intended.
Decluttering our lives is more important than decluttering
our homes. Life is so much simpler—not necessarily easier—but certainly happier,
when we model our lives after God’s character: compassionate, gracious,
patient, loving, faithful, forgiving and just (Exodus 34:6–7).
