We bought a house this past winter. The price was right. It has acreage, a creek, giant yard, no neighbors, and ample wildlife. The price was right. We will fully own our home by our 35th birthday–by our twelfth anniversary.

That was a big deciding factor for us. We were tired of renting. We wanted a house now that could be ours and we didn’t care about “the big picture”. We wanted to be our own boss, but managing retail and owning your own house will teach you the same thing: being the boss isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Water Damage

We embarked on this adventure with nothing in mind except the animals we could have in the pasture, the garden we could grow from the dirt, the creek discoveries our children would grow up with, and the reality that we’d finally have a home.

But “April Showers” were actually March-through-June showers this year, and we realized very quickly that a lot of the water damage that we could see in the house was still being damaged. We didn’t have to guess at this. We could see the leaks. Water ran down the chimney, down walls, from the ceiling in several rooms.

So, we cleaned walls, pulled out moldy insulation, pulled up nasty carpet, and climbed onto the roof with 5 gallon buckets full of sticky, black tar. I bent over that roof for two days, wiping that nasty goop on every nail, and carefully along the seam (that was the reason for each and every leak).

Then the rains came. New leaks in new places. I’m told it’s because walking on the roof shifted some nails or tin to cause new leaks. Whatever the reason, we had new leaks. We weren’t sure where one leak was coming from until the ceiling fell in, literally fell onto the floor right in front of us. Now we know. It’s from the seam.

Patching the Roof

I think I know the problem with our leaky roof. I think we patched something that needs replacing. We put a finger in the dyke, a bandaid on an amputation, a bucket of tar on a bad roof. And now there is more damage than when we started.

The Bible tells us something important about houses. In Ephesians 2:19-22 Paul wrote:

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

There are a lot of words in this passage that point to home structure. God has a household, built on a foundation, with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone. The structure makes up a holy temple–a dwelling place for the Spirit of God. If you know anything about structures then you know the foundation and cornerstone is vital to the integrity of the structure. These are what makes it stand–what makes it a dwelling. Paul says we (God’s people), together with the apostles and prophets, and Jesus Christ, make up a holy temple. A holy temple has a foundation, cornerstone, and most likely walls, and a roof.

I wonder if the roof leaks?

Upkeep

Our house wouldn’t be in this shape if the place had been maintained. The roof wouldn’t leak if it was regularly treated. The rotting logs in our log cabin wouldn’t need to be replaced if they were treated regularly. The walls, floors, and chimney wouldn’t need repairs if these things were maintained. But no one has been living in this house for a few years. No one was here to put in the effort, to see the damage, and to fix the problems before damage was done.

God tells us how to build the house, it should be with Him, for Him, and He will fill it to the brim with His Holy Spirit.

Like our new dream house, God’s house will depreciate if it isn’t maintained. It’s a household, all members are responsible for the upkeep. It should be lived in, it should be valued, and it should be maintained.

Our houses aren’t just to live in. They’re also to keep the elements outside. If your home doesn’t leak, you might take it for granted during a rainstorm. Don’t.

Keep the weather out of  your house, and keep intruders out of your holy temple.