This Ol' House

October 20, 2006

There is nothing that falls apart as quickly than an abandoned house. There was an old song Rosemary Clooney sang called “This Ol’ House.” Rosemary went on about, “Ain't got time to fix the shingles, Ain't got time to fix the floor… Ain’t gonna need this house no longer, Ain’t gonna need this house no more…”

You’ve seen houses that are not maintained well but are lived in. They remain standing somehow. But there’s nothing like a long abandoned house that reflects a loss of spirit and a loss of life. There is something about being left alone that brings about an atrophy and a dying.

Footsteps across the carpet, the doors swinging opened and closed, the weight of someone in bed. The creaks and groanings of someone trotting up the stairs keep a house alive.

I can’t imagine it’s any different with our spiritual homes. Once the church attendance falls off and the prayers are no longer said, the Bible gathers dust, and an atrophy sets in. Maybe, for some of us, it’s time to do something about This Ol’ House – on our knees to fix the shingles, to fix the floor.

“My house shall be called a house of prayer … Mark 11:17”