Extreme Makeover

A family with limited means, sacrificing every comfort to meet the needs of a severely disabled child in a sub-standard house suddenly gets a knock on the door….Ty Pennington from ABC TV announces with unbridled enthusiasm that they have been selected to receive an “extreme makeover!” Thousands of volunteers turn out to help in what becomes an amazing community event. In only seven days, a new home is built from the ground up….not only constructed, but designed to meet very specific needs and interests. On the final day, the family is brought back to see their new home, hidden from their view by a large bus. Thousands of voices ring out with “move that bus!” and as the bus rolls away, the grateful recipients are overcome with emotion. I have never been able to watch this show without needing a box of kleenix. But it always leaves me inspired and grateful that, finally, there is something worth watching on TV!

It is wonderful to see a deserving family receive a gift, desperately needed, that is beyond anything they could have dreamed or imagined. They may have been at the end of their rope, so to speak….everyday life a struggle, but with no hope in sight. Then, an unanticipated act of love changed their lives. They experienced an “extreme makeover.” There is something in me….in all of us I think…that longs for renewal. I believe that longing is a God-given attribute. After all, our God is the originator of “extreme makeover!”

The story of man begins with a garden. God, the Master Gardner, planted a garden in Eden. He placed Adam in the garden and told him to “work it and take care of it” (Gen. 2:15). In the middle of the garden were two trees, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve were free to eat from any tree in the garden (including the tree of life!) except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They disbelieved, disobeyed and sin entered the world, along with the first thorn bush! God gave them a choice….the same choice he gives to us: “…I have set before you life and death, blessing and curses…choose life….the Lord is your life” (Deut. 30:19-20). They chose poorly, as we all have at one time or another. Sin bore it’s ugly fruit… they tried to hide from God, they felt fear and shame for the first time, and when God confronted them, they blamed one another….Adam even blamed God, stating “the woman YOU put here with me…she gave it to me.” Eve was the first to claim, in essence, “the devil made me do it…” (Gen3:13). Their disobedience resulted in separation from God, as they were driven from the garden. But our all-wise, sovereign God already had a plan in place to redeem His beloved creation and restore mankind to relationship with Him.

There was another garden, the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus was betrayed and arrested. There was another tree, hewn to form a cross. An incomprehensible act of love changed everything. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8) “The result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men” (Romans 5:18). Now we are offered the transforming gift of grace. “You were taught…to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new ….to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:22-24). “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). God has said to us, in so many places and so many ways, “congratulations….you have been chosen to receive an extreme makeover!”

There is another garden in our future. Revelation 21 and 22 describe a time when God will make everything new. John describes the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven to a new earth. God’s relationship with His creation will be completely restored. “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” There will be a river flowing from the throne of God “down the middle of the great street of the city.” And there will be another tree….on each side of the river, the tree of life, bearing life-giving fruit, and leaves for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be a curse on the land (Rev. 21, 22). “He who was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new!” (Rev. 21:5)

Revelation records that an angel carried John, in vision, to a high mountain to show him the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It was a spiritual “Move that bus!” moment….and John saw a city that shone with the very glory of God…its brilliance like a very precious jewel…” There was no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple….the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp…the nations will walk by its light…on no day will its gates ever be shut…” (Rev. 21). As I struggle to wrap my mind around this incredible picture, I am reminded of the song, “I Can Only Imagine.” “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (I. Cor. 2:9). Maybe another way to pray, “your kingdom come” might be….”We’re ready, Lord….move that bus!”