Perhaps you will remember Rosemary Clooney singing this catchy song:
This ole house once knew his children
This ole house once knew his
wife
This ole house was home and comfort
As they fought the storms of
life
This old house once rang with laughter
This old house heard many
shouts
Now he trembles in the darkness
When the lightning' walks
about
Ain't a-gonna need this house no longer
Ain't a-gonna need this
house no more
Ain't got time to fix the shingles
Ain't got time to fix the
floor
Ain't got time to oil the hinges
Nor to mend the window
pane
Ain't a-gonna need this house no longer
We's a-gettin' ready to meet
the saints.
The song tells a story of better times when the owner was young and happy. He was able to keep everything in good repair. As he aged his interest in keeping the house looking perfect waned. Finally he gave in to his age and left it all to the winds of time.
I am a little like this now. Although my health is good and the skills to do most anything needed are still with me, I have lost some of the desire to keep everything perfect. Our house is in fine shape overall, but we see little things that I have neglected. There is some paint missing, the gutters need repair and leak a little. The yard once our pride is not what it once was. A bad freeze last winter destroyed many of the prized flowering bushes. Some are being restored and I enjoy seeing the new flowers, but limit what I do. I would rather spend time on other interests.
Is this wrong? Do others in their final years of life feel the same? If fixing things is your hobby, then you may keep at it. I built most of two houses and finished two basements and two upstairs areas in the various homes we owned. The work was done evenings and weekends. The best part was when it was finished I could sit back and admire the job. Yes I worked on the Sabbath, but it was a break from the weekday corporate life. At that time I knew little about keeping the Sabbath and Jesus was not a part of my life. We needed more room then, the reason for the expansions. But no longer, our home is more than adequate and has been our comfortable refuge for over thirty years.
Our home may have scars, but far worse - some folks have emotional and even physical scars from past relationships. A person they trust has hurt them. Such scars must be repaired if the person is to lead a normal life. Some people just shut off their emotions, but this does not make them happy. When we allow Christ into our hearts, He can heal the scars caused by life and repair our wounded spirit. The high price for our restoration has been paid by Christ. A home may be neglected, but these hurts must be fixed. Let the Great Carpenter help repair them.
Now I know we won’t need our home much longer, so the incentive to keep up every little thing is gone. We won’t die in this home, but will leave it when Jesus comes to take His faithful to be in Heaven with Him, forever. So I see no need to keep our home in absolute top show condition as we will not sell it. Also, it will be of little use to anyone after we leave. After Jesus comes in the clouds, the Great Tribulation will begin. It will seem fine at first but after several years, Satan will see that only those who pledge their lives to him will get much use from anything. They won’t even be able to buy food. If they take his number 666 they will be with him forever in torture. We will continue to enjoy our home while we are here, but before too long “We won’t need this house no longer”.