Bootstrapping the Interior Life: Cooperation

Looked at one way, the interior life is a long series of repairs. We are broken people in so many ways, we fall so far short of the perfection God has in mind for us; and as we grow in the interior life these things slowly get fixed.

I wrote this post in the middle of a long kitchen remodel; and perhaps not coincidentally, it occurred to me that growing in the interior life is less like being a handyman and playing Mr. Fix-It in your own home, and more like hiring a contractor to remodel your kitchen. There’s so much to do, and so much of it has to be done just right, and anyway I’ve got a full-time job of my own. Better to hire someone who knows what they are doing, and let them get on with it while I go to work.

The contractor, of course, is God. He knows what needs to be done, and he’ll take care of it for you. By His grace, amazing things will happen while you’re not paying attention. The thing is, you need to cooperate with him.

When you’re having your kitchen remodeled, there are many ways in which the contractor needs your help. You have to pick out counter tops. You have to pick out cupboard doors and plumbing fixtures and tile and colors of stain and cabinet hardware and appliances, and on and on and on. If you don’t do these things, work stops. Nothing happens. And, of course, you have to keeping paying him, or he can’t afford to pay his workers or buy the raw materials. If you don’t cooperate, the kitchen doesn’t get done.

Similarly, you have to cooperate with God’s grace, or nothing will happen. And really, that’s what these series of posts is all about: ways to cooperate with God’s grace that have worked for me, and might work for you. Ways to keep construction moving forward.

There is one major difference between remodeling your kitchen and the interior life: the remodel only seems like it’s going to last forever.