Matthew 7:24

“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

As the dawn breaks, I see a pile of lumber, plaster, and debris outside our window. They have been torn out of our house so that we can have some much-needed closet space. The Bible says that there is a time to tear down, and a time to build back up again. The closet is a blessing for which we are so thankful. Like the debris that will soon be gone and remembered no more, so it is with the debris of our life when the Lord tears down and rebuilds. “Behold, he makes all things new again.”

We humans could remember a few lessons from the Bible when it comes to tearing down and building, especially in the carpentry of our lives.

There are two ways to have the tallest building in town: You can tear down everyone else’s building, or you can work hard to build your own. Most of us are not interested in having the tallest building, but we all can strive to have a tall life.

A little boy couldn’t get his sandcastle to stand. Instead of trying again, he just ran down the beach kicking the others down. It seems like a lot of that kind of thing is going on in our society. We have become quite skilled in the work of social demolition; a life can be torn down with a single word or sentence.

Could it be that some people have a clear notion of what they hate, and what they mean to destroy; but no clear notion of what they want to create? We are living in a time when so many seem to prefer tearing down the lives, dreams and hopes of others simply because it is easier than building.

Building Christian character is hard work. It requires us to put down all self-centeredness in exchange for Christ centeredness; and to build on what is noble, kind, and good. To believe that even the smallest deed done in Jesus’ name is another building block in a taller and better world.

There is a time to break down, and a time to build. We give or we take, we build, or we break; what in the world are we going to do today?

Grace and Peace, Rev Ray