PARABLE: "3RD FLOOR REMODEL"
Posted by: prophetic <prophetic@...>
"The Third Floor Remodel Project"
-by Mike Woelk (26 Aug 2003).
I have been using a third-floor corner of a 19th century
building as an early-morning prayer closet. The building
has a storied history, being home to many successful
enterprises over its century. But some time ago it
became obvious to the owner that in its present
condition, the third floor was no longer profitable.
Over the past few months all the walls have been torn out
to produce a very large room destined to be a banquet
hall for the restaurant on a lower floor.
Not everyone agreed with the owner. "Those old offices
are too lovely to tear out." "That floor layout made a lot
of money." But the owner had a keen business mind,
and he could look beyond appearances and the
successful past. He had only one thing in mind: a
profitable future.
He had plans to use all that was salvageable, all that
had a place in his new purpose. Throughout the summer
a young man who worked for the building owner carefully
tore out the old.
Some material, like antique windows and doors, would
have a place in the new order, but they would require
some costly and time-consuming renovation if they were
to be used again. Hopefully they would be able to
withstand the process. Hopefully they would not crack or
break under the strictures of renovation.
Some things were not touched. Four columns down the
middle of the room, even though they will be in the way in
a banquet room, are left standing. They support the ceiling.
But some of the work was merciless work with a sledge
hammer and crow bar. Some material was so entrenched
in the old structure that it was unsalvageable and had to
be crushed out and carried away. Some material, though
once beautiful and valuable, was too outdated to be of use.
In this season the Lord is taking a wrecking crew to old
houses. But He wants to salvage many believers for use
in a new house. There are disadvantages to being a living
stone in the House of the Lord rather than an inanimate
brick. Living stones can choose whether they will be
removed from the old. They must decide whether they
will give up their sizeable investments in the old in order
to be a part of the new. They can choose whether they
will submit to the removal blemishes and scars. Other
men who are not the owner, who have not made costly
investments, come along with attractive ideas of their
own. Living stones must decide whether they will
volunteer to be a part of some other project which is
presented before time. They can choose whether they
will lie quietly and wait their time to be placed again in
a new thing.
Another problem for living stones is that they do not have
the vision or perspective of the Owner. They often only
know where they have been and what they have done.
So they must trust the owner by faith. Even those living
stones which are themselves builders, apostles, must
be prepared, as was Paul, to sit even for years until the
Lord separates them from the pile and places them in
the new structure.
To my delight, a few weeks later the old walls were
completed - most of the cracked and disfigured plaster
had been removed, and the foundational brick brushed
down to be used as solid wall and fashionable finish.
As with the House of the Lord, what was foundational
still had to be in place or the building would be ruined
completely. The basic principles of Christ are not to
be hidden.
The third floor is almost ready. The market demand in
our city for such a banquet and meeting facility is large.
Success is a sure thing. So too, I believe that the
processes of the Lord's House rebuilding is approaching
readiness for revival.
-M Woelk.
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