I would like to share with you the following story, with one major difference, in hopes of helping you to understand God’s dealings with man; man’s mistrust of those dealings; what God does to gain his trust; the love God puts in and the honor and joy He gets from it all.

My brother, Buddy, bought a run-down, abandoned house in the city. Buddy is not a carpenter, but the house needed major repairs to make it enjoyable to live in. Our nephew, Dewayne, is a carpenter and agreed to fix-up the house.

Dewayne being a master builder took his time, assessed the damage and began to repair the most critical areas first, such as a leaky roof and install new windows. The house needed to be exterminated, termites had eaten up parts of the floor. And as angry or anxious as Buddy would get to have the rotten floors or another part of the house repaired, Dewayne stayed focused; calmly he would remind Buddy why it was important to finish the current project before he moved on to something else. He would point out the expert work that had already been completed so that Buddy’s confidence in his skills would grow, and he would let him do what needed to be done in its proper order. 

Although this house held no sentimental value for Buddy, he still needed a place to live and had money invested in it; and would rather have it repaired than torn down if possible. This project required the purchase of new items, the restoration of some, and the recovery of others. For Dewayne, this became a labor of love and a badge of honor to see something so broken down be made like new. 

The one major difference that I mentioned above is that, whereas Buddy’s house held no sentimental value for him; man holds great sentimental value for God―He is not just looking for a place to live or seeking to recoup His investment. Man is the apple of His eye. He loves him with an everlasting love that can’t be extinguished. God’s emotions are stirred when it comes to man― love, compassion, anger, joy, laughter, sorrow, to name a few. God longs to see man reborn, restored and recovered.

As Dewayne explained to me, the Master Builder is in complete control of the project once it is underway―no one dictates to him how to fulfill the contract.  He has a blueprint that he will follow in making the necessary repairs. His heart is set to give the homeowner a place that he will be pleased to dwell. I was so impressed with Dewayne’s passion for the building process. 

And so it is with God. Salvation is what He has purposed in Himself to do to get His man back and to make him better than he was before sin got a hold of him. This project means more to God than anything; therefore, no one dictates to Him concerning it―anyway, man has no idea how God thinks and is totally unqualified to give Him advice.