Broken Down House

Aled Williams | February 2014 - Book Review

By Paul David Tripp - (2009) Wapwallopen: Shepherd Press Incorporated

Do you have a phobia of DIY or are you an enthusiast? Have you ever had major renovation work on your house? How did you find living through the dust and the disruption? 

In Broken-Down House, Paul David Tripp uses the renovation of a dilapidated house as an analogy for life. Sin has spoiled the house that God created. Our world waits, groaning for the restoration that can only be achieved by the hands of the Builder, and the bad news is that we're living in the middle of that restoration process. But the good news is that God, the divine Builder will not rest or give up until His house is made new again.

Often it may not look like any real restoration is going on at all. Things seem to get messier, uglier, and less functional all the time. But so often that's the way it is with restoration; things seem to get worse before they get better. One day we'll live forever in a perfectly restored house, but in the meantime, God is with us today, restoring His house to its former beauty, and right now He calls us to live productively with peace and joy in a place that has been sadly damaged by sin. 

So is this a book about how we can survive in the mess? No, the author proposes that we have been created and called by God for more than survival: we have been created and called to care for more than just ourselves. We have been called to be actively involved in the restoration that is at the heart of God's plan of redemption - that is what Broken Down House is all about. It is a book that reminds us that while we live in a place damaged by sin, we don't have to be discouraged or depressed; we can live productively in this broken world.

I would strongly recommend any books by Paul Tripp – as a Pastor, he roots his theology in Scripture, pointing out that the Bible is painfully honest about real life in a fallen world, and that this honesty is a sign of God's love. Also, as an experienced counselor, his theology is also strongly applied to real life, with examples that are likely to resonate with us all.

I would heartily recommend Broken-Down House as a book for everyone (no one is exempt from its message) and everything (the book covers every aspect of life). Most of all, it is a book which points us to Christ as our cornerstone and God as our chief architect. Read it and work through what it looks like on a practical level to live well in a broken-down world that is being restored. Use it to help you develop a restoration lifestyle and to live productively in a broken place. Apply it to your life and ask God to help you to function as one of His tools of restoration.