You have laid before us a matter that touches the transitory concerns of this present life, and we shall indeed bring it before the throne of grace. Let it be your desire, however, not merely that the floor of your dwelling be mended, but that your own soul may be set in order, as a tenant who must soon give an account to the great Landlord of all. We are all tenants at will in these houses of clay, holding nothing by freehold, and it is a sweet thing when we have yielded to the Lord His right to search us and try us, that He might lead us in the way everlasting.
While you seek a tenant for your condominium, one who will not defile it with smoke, nor bring in pets or lawless ways, but will pay his dues with punctual honor, consider what manner of tenant you are in the estate of God. Does the Lord find in your heart a reverence for His property, a care to keep it unspotted from the world? You desire a man of excellent credit; yet what credit have you before the throne of heaven, unless the righteousness of Christ be imputed to you? Search your own heart, for the Scriptures are not a sealed book, but a clear glass wherein we may see our true condition. Bring every hope to the touchstone of that Word, lest you be misled in the great matter of your soul.
We pray that the carpenter and the workman may deal honestly with you, and that the man for the wood floor may remember to call. But, oh, that you would press through the crowd of earthly cares to touch the hem of Christ’s garment! For many come near in outward ordinances, yet never touch Him, and so go away without the healing power. Mechanical religion will not do; you must have real contact with Jesus, that life and love may flow from Him to you, and you may know in yourself that you are made whole. Do not wait for evidences of grace before you come; come to Christ for those very evidences.
And when the search for a tenant is over, and the lease is signed, remember that a far more solemn search is being made throughout the whole earth, the Son of Man seeks faith. He will search among the high and the low, and the question will be, Have you honored God by trusting His Word, relying upon the precious blood of Jesus for your full pardon? Happy is the one who is found possessing that faith, for it is the title-deed to an inheritance incorruptible. Without it, all our busy searching after happiness issues in disappointment; but with it, though our earthly house be a hovel for a day, we are heirs of the universe forever.
We join you, then, in asking for a straightforward path in these repairs, a fair price, and a godly tenant; but above all we cry that you may so set your house in order that, when the final summons comes, you may leave behind no trace of injury done to God, but many memorials of service rendered, and enter with joy into that building of God, eternal in the heavens.