Shed and Buried?

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was found by Jesus in a very lost and floundering state, and He gave me a hope and a freedom that went beyond my comprehension. But one of the first questions I was asked by a work mate (who was struggling to believe that the reckless world-loving guy he knew was apparently changeable) laughingly joked,

Have you become one of those ‘born again’ people?

‘No,’ I said, as I tried to explain what I still don’t truly grasp, the enormity of what had happened to this old broken messed up person, who now felt and saw so differently! Had I been born again? Was I a new creation? And to be honest, what do they even mean?

I think Nicodemus asks a fair question despite all his knowledge and wise learning. How can a man be reborn without literally reentering the womb? (John 3:4) Yet Paul writes clearly to the Galatians that circumcision (external marker) doesn’t matter, what matters is whether we have been transformed into a new creation (Gal 6:15).

We also read in Corinthians that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person, the old life is gone; a new life has begun! It goes on to say that we have been brought back to life, or resurrection, in that just as we died with Christ, we have risen with Him! However, it is all still biblical speech that can be so easy to say, yet vast to grasp.

What is a new creation in Christ?

And far from turning to one of my deep commentaries, it has been a simple garden shed that over the last few months has made me ponder and wonder about this incredible concept of rebirth.

I was recently stood looking at the old shed in our garden. It looked tired, parts rotting, the roof leaked and, as I tried opening the window, two panes of glass slipped out of the rotten window frame and I pounced like a world class goalkeeper to save them from falling to the ground or, worse still, cutting the dog in half! It was the moment of decision, the shed needed to go for scrap, or drastic work was needed!

And in many ways, this is where the lessons or spiritual comparisons and ponderings start and I found the Lord teaching me so much about His desire to restore, to repair, to bring back life, even when all hope seems lost.  You can see the creator’s love and willingness to persevere in the face of vast restoration.  He starts millions of individual journeys, as we all travel, not just in being reborn but being (ongoing) made new.

My first job with the shed was the window, which first needed a temporary fix before each piece of the window frame was fixed or replaced, cut to precision, treated, and painting laboriously – one side at a time.   It was not the quick fix I had been hoping for, and neither is the healing process that God has us all on.  I’d love God to do things instantly in my timing but there is an ongoing process He alone knows and is vital, even if unseen.

As I turned to the side of the shed where damp had taken hold, the more I looked, the more I saw the rot just went deeper. The suggestion and temptation was to just nail new bits over the rotten base, after all no one would see, and did it really matter as it would be good in the short term?  Alas, the truth is evident, the rot and damaged areas hold no strength, no integrity, and they can no longer do what they were designed to do.  But there was an opportunity here for me to not only restore but also strengthen the panels to be far stronger than the original, prepared for the future. But it wasn’t going to be a quick job to do it properly would take time but also wisdom in carefully removing enough to restore without bringing total collapse!

So many of us (maybe out of fear of total collapse) have simply learnt to paint over the past, the rot, the cracks, and look perfect to others but at some point, that rot will show, despite our best efforts and, even for some, trying to convince ourselves, ‘I’m fine!’ But our Great Restorer says,

No! I want to go deeper, I refuse to settle, I refuse to leave you as you are, the rot is coming out and, in time, the new sides and paint will go on.

A beautiful image of an invested and committed Father.  When we look back and see not just restoration but the changes; the way we don’t do what we once did, something is changing inside, something is being renewed far beyond our understanding, and we know it is good! We can start to see much how God works for good, in time, in gentleness but with steadfast, determined ownership that we will be fully His new creation. Why? Because it’s what we asked for, when we said, ‘Yes.’  When we asked our Maker, it was inevitable because in dying with Him, we now are rising with Him.

Restoration inevitably involves exposing the dark and vulnerable places that have remained hidden for a long time.  How often I’ve said, ‘Lord not there!’ as protection and to avoid exposing that dark hidden corner.  But it’s here in the damp and the rot, that the unwanted grows and festers. Being restored into a new creation by the Master Craftsman means the Spirit gently (or with loving force) pushing us to allow Him access.  He puts others alongside to allow circumstances that expose these areas, whilst the enemy would encourage us to just leave them, to hide them in shame, and to act as a constant whisper that we are beyond repair, beyond saving and good for only scrappage.

God alone is the one who stamps His seal and ownership and determines that our worth is beyond measure, because it’s in His perfect image we are created.  The question so often though, is whether we believe that ourselves, or the many disparaging voices against us, even our own sometimes.

The shed restoration project continued with the door, which was basically a door in name but not in reality.  It had failed to seal, protect, to allow or stop entry; it needed realignment and its damaged rusted hinges renewed, to stop the gaps and make it secure.

The doorways to our hearts can be equally in need of repair, having often been abused or breached, whether by invitation, deception, or a mixture.  We can end up with our heart’s doors firmly shut and bolted where nothing is allowed access anymore, or we can leave them hanging off the hinges, open to all manner of wanted and unwanted visitors, helpful or not.

The bible warns us to guard our heart, and the Restorer, the lover of our souls stands at the door waiting for an invitation to come in to bring new hope and communion. But in doing so also securing our borders and mending the brokenness which we’ve suffered through years of neglect or abuse- beware of the accuser who says, “Don’t tell anyone, hide! Don’t let Jesus in.  Don’t face the shame.  Don’t let him see the damage, the rot and pain.”  As Creator and Lord, He sees regardless, the question is rather,

Do you want a new start, a clean slate, a new dawn?

Because He is the only one who can, and He longs to come in and bring hope and drive out disparity.

Over these months, I have got to know my shed; every inch of it, the issues, the problems, the detail, the measurements and the odd bits that have been added or taken away.   So, when we read of a Master who knows us intimately down to the number of hairs on our head, it’s because of the time and love He has invested in you to know you so well. I am struck by the love of a Creator who sees the rot, the ruin and, even more agonizingly, sees the need.  He has the ability to fully restore but also the love and patience to say, “May I?”  He doesn’t force his way in, He asks.

It seems a daft question, why wouldn’t we?  Why wouldn’t we say yes to transformation? Why?  Because it costs, because we don’t like change, because we like things our way, because we are terrified that if He or others saw the true extent of the underneath, He may throw us away rather than commit to the process of restoration.

But the Word of God shouts with every fibre and word in it,

No! I have loved you with everlasting love, I have loved you from before the earth began.

You see God knows the plans He has for us and that’s hard to know and see when, like my hinges, I want them fixed but first they needed soaking, cleaning in oil for a few nights. The timbers I’m using didn’t grow cut, I bought them, but they were once trees and have been through a process as part of the overall restoration.

But rather than paying a small price at a store, Jesus went to the cross and paid the highest possible cost, becoming the lowest, not with money but His very life.  He paid the ultimate price so He can bring you full and complete restoration. He has defeated anything that would dare stand against you and has done so because He longs to restore you.  Not another version of you, He wants to bring YOU back to completion, His perfect creation that is so very good!

God calls himself our Saviour, He is a rescuer and it’s somehow harder to grasp that being reborn isn’t throwing away the old but restoring His created order, true healing and wholeness as we are being changed from glory into glory. A mind-blowing concept that is maybe harder to grasp if we don’t see our value as our loving Father sees us. It will take time, effort, cost, energy, but that is worked out with beautiful precision, love and all with your very best at heart but He will not be thwarted because; John 1:12-13

to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn – not with physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

Finally, as others have helped me or commented on my efforts with the shed, hopeful of its future use, I’m reminded that being a new creation is not just for us, it is for the glory of God and also for others. In 2 Corinthians 5:17-19,

we are commanded to share the hope we have: ^‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

We have a message and as God’s ambassadors called to say to others – ‘you are worth it, you are priceless and however you come to Jesus, the restoration will be wonderfully beautiful!!’