Blog No. 19 - Reading Time 3:45

I’m just having a unique thought for this Monday morning. When you go by a new housing development you get a general sense of the lots and roads they put in, but to get a clearer picture of what it’s going to look like in the future they usually build a model home.

This home is to give you an idea that if you lived in this new community, this is what your home would be like. This helps you to understand the kind of people who will inhabit the homes around you and the restrictions you will live under by being a part of this new housing development.

The simile that I see in this is that as Christians we ought to regard our lives as model homes for those who don’t know Christ. We ought to live in a way that others can see what’s it’s supposed to be like to be born again. We ought to exemplify a life of surrender to the will of God, service to his purpose, and possess the joy of his abiding presence.

People ought to be able to get an idea of what’s expected and required for them to build their lives on the gospel and to live for God. Do we? Do our lives represent the baseline for what a Christian is supposed to be, to value, and to live for?

Some developers just put up a big billboard with a picture of a typical house on it. However, it’s much more compelling to be able to walk through a model home and see how everything works and how much this housing community will have to offer as each person builds their house in it.

God’s House

Church is kind of like a housing development. As potential residents walk through your life, they are not only deciding whether they want to live as you live, they are also thinking about whether your church is for them or not. They see what you value, the ponder your commitments, and they inspect your lifestyle. How committed are you to your church?

It could be that the housing development says only brick homes are to be built there. However, upon closer inspection, the model home only has a 1/4” thick brick veneer. The requirements may say three-bedroom homes only, but they find the model home has only two full-sized bedrooms and a little room no bigger than a closet.

In other words, all the compromises of your life reflect on the entire development. If these short-comings are found in the model home, what will the other homes be like?

Uniquely Placed Homes

God has placed each of us uniquely in our church, community, job, and family to act as a model of what a believer in Jesus is actually like. Every detail of our lives will be inspected by those who are considering joining a community of believers. Every variance others see will cast doubt upon who we say we are and whether the Word of God and his promises can be fully trusted.

This truth ought cause us to at least make the best of what we have as a witness to others. At the very minimum, maybe we ought to do a little housecleaning. It may not be God or the Holy Spirit doing the inspection, but it is important to show our care for the things of God to others as a witness of our commitment to the Lord and his church.

Passing Inspection

I know that some would say that others are just “judgmental,” but maybe they are actually questioning the integrity of the developer himself because of what they see in our lives. If God allows these things in our lives, what do his people allow in the church? If God takes so little interest in the model home, how will he care for the rest of the community of believers?

Finally, if your life was going to be put on display and everyone was going to have an opportunity to walk through every aspect of it, down to the last detail, is there anything you would like a chance to clean up first? If so, do it now. The neighbors are watching!

“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, 
and nothing concealed that will not be known 
or brought out into the open.”

Luke 8:17 NIV

Just a kind word from your local Home Owners Association.

Until next Monday, may the Lord bless you! Pray for us!

Pastor Brian Jenkins

Calvary Assemblies of God

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