For the past several months, our church has watched as a new building has gone up. What an exciting process and looking back it seems to have gone quickly, although the truth is we anticipated, planned and prayed for years. Within a couple of months after occupying our new facility (kids worship auditorium and Sunday school classrooms), the old building was scheduled to be demolished.
We received a phone call that the demolition company would be in our property and the whole process would take about a week. Wow, they were not kidding. Within 1 week, the entire building was taken down, including the foundation!
I could literally find dozens of spiritual applications to make in this scenario, but I have chosen one today that has been on my heart.
We build relationships, and good ones that are Christ-centered take years to forge. We usually don't just allow people to know our inner selves immediately. As Christians, our common denominator of friendship is that relationship with Christ. Really, it's more than a common denominator, it is the way we conduct ourselves in every part of our life. We build these brick, by brick, so to speak.
Likewise, we have the ability to tear one another apart. Like it or not, sometimes even Christians do not behave in Christlike ways. It takes seconds to tear down or demolish a relationship. Harsh words and actions are like a bulldozer over the foundation of relationships. Re-building and repairing these damages takes time, sometimes a lifetime.
I could go launch into a lesson on forgiveness and Christian love here, but that'll have to be another week. My encouragement to you is this...what will you be? Brick layer, foundation builder or bulldozer, demolition crew?
1 Thessalonians 5:11
'So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind.'
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