Broken-Down House: Living Productively in a World Gone Bad

There is not an area of life that we know or experience that has not been tainted by sin.

The devastating effects of sin in our lives are as obvious as ever-increasing deteriorating neighborhoods in our recession-stricken land. In fact, author Paul Tripp thinks that these broken-down houses are a great analogy to our present condition. And while we cannot place our hope in any one politician, philanthropist or preacher to correct the state of our neighborhoods, we can come into the realization that these broken-down houses, our lives, in which we dwell are being restored by One who offers grace during the restoration.

We not only have the grace to endure what He is doing in our lives, but have the grace to affect this world for His Kingdom as well during this restoration process!

Tripp causes the reader to focus on key areas of life as he breaks this book down into two easily consumed sections of “Knowing” and “Doing”. We must come to the realization that we are not the house owner, nor the Contractor doing the repairs. God is sovereignly dictating the events of the restoration in our lives and giving us the grace to endure it all. Understanding that God is in charge and we do have a purpose while living in this “world gone bad”, Paul Tripp provides practical application to the reader, leaving one invigorated and challenged with a renewed spirit of purpose in the “Doing” section of the book.

How does this relate to dads? So many times we come home to literal houses that are in disarray and we tend to react wrongly. We snap at our wives, yell at the kids, kick the dog and throw books at the cat. We forget about grace. What happens when we focus on the grace of God shown to us in our very personal broken-down houses (our own lives)? We begin to react in gracious ways towards those who we are most familiar with.

I encourage you to read this work by Tripp. He writes in a manner that is easy to follow, visually stimulating and spiritually challenging. You may read portions of the book at Shepherd Press’ website, and also see a video in which Tripp speaks about this work.