Parallels: Home and Spiritual renovation— Windows
(This is part of a series on what I learned through the process of renovating our home and the parallels to a life yielded to and experiencing God’s work in renovating our life and spirit)
There are majestic pine trees and a small nature area behind our house. Each season creates a different look: from snow-covered boughs in the winter, blossoms and tall grass in the spring and summer, and an array of reds and golds in the autumn. In designing our three-season porch, I wanted to make sure we could enjoy that view and feel closer to it. My wife is an avid bird watcher, so we put in several feeders to attract a variety of birds. Goldfinches, cardinals, juncos, blue jays, and house finches are regular visitors, as well as rabbits, squirrels, and a few deer. With the close proximity of the porch to the feeders, we hoped we would get some close-up views and pictures of the birds and animals that frequented the feeders.
Because of the cold winters here in Minnesota, I custom-ordered energy-efficient, triple-pane windows for the three-season porch. When they arrived, our framing contractor and his team carefully lifted and installed the windows using a lift truck. As beautiful as the windows looked when they were put in place, they were still dust-covered and covered with protective film and labels from the manufacturer.
Removing the film and labels attached to each window took some time. When the film was removed, I used a flat scraper to remove the labels and residual glue. Then, I used window spray and towels to finish cleaning the newly installed windows. Even though the interior was unfinished, we could still admire the new, unobstructed view, especially the birds that visited each day. Late one night, I was even able to take a photo of three deer that came by.
An integral part of spiritual renovation is regularly checking on the "window" of our soul. Jesus once said this:
"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23)
Sometimes, what we fix our minds and hearts on can cloud our spiritual eyes. It can be hard to see God through the film of the world's flawed narratives, the false labels we or someone else puts on us, empty religiosity, and the gunk of sin that gets attached to our souls. We can even reach a point where we can't see the beauty of God or the cries of people in need around us.
The windows of our soul need a deep cleaning and healing.
Enter Jesus.
Hundreds of years before he was born, Jesus was foretold by Isaiah, the wise Old Testament prophet, as the One who would open the eyes that are blind, free captives from prison, and release those who sit in darkness. (Isaiah 42:7)
When Jesus walked the earth, he literally gave sight to blind people, including those who were blind from birth. But Jesus was ultimately about curing spiritual blindness—and He is still doing it today. The one thing the blind people Jesus healed had in common was that they asked Him to give them sight.
As someone who has had necessary laser medical procedures done on my eyes, I can tell you that I couldn't have cleared my sight issues on my own. I needed a competent, trained eye doctor to do this, so I asked for help and then submitted to their care.
As someone whose spiritual sight has needed—and still regularly needs —healing and cleaning, I will vouch for the fact that the only cure is Jesus. I ask Him to open the eyes of my heart to see Him, as well as see life, people, and circumstances through His eyes. Jesus always responds. He is my faithful friend and healer who, over and over again, reorients my soul to see God and others around me in new ways. Jesus can restore spiritual sight to anyone, regardless of past or present darkness. We simply have to turn to Him and ask. Through Jesus, our spiritual vision can be healed and attuned in new and exciting ways. Here are just a few:
He empowers us to set our eyes on Him—Jesus—the author and finisher of genuine faith. (Hebrews 12:2). We see life in the light of His presence within and around us.
He reorients our spiritual eyes to focus not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18).
We are refocused on living in the broad horizons of eternity with God, not just in the narrow view of our earthly life.
He restores our sight to see and respond to others' needs. God can help us get the focus off our own reflection and instead reflect His love and care for those in need.
He leads us to an intimate view and experience of God even in hard times; as Job once said," My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. (Job 42:5)
And finally, we are touched by God's hand to see the incredible blessings He has in store for us:
"… I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." (Ephesians 1: 18-19)
I encourage you to bring the “window” of your soul to the One who can clean and bring new sight.
God bless you.
Chris Atkins