Vantage Point

From my first-floor flat, I have a brilliant view into the construction site just across the road from me.

 

I noticed earlier that, because of all of the boards surrounding the site, it is virtually impossible to see anything from ground level.  So, whilst someone walking or driving past would only be able to see the very tops of the scaffolding poles, I have a perfect view of everything that is going on.

 

I have watched the ground being dug up.  I have watched the foundations being established.  I have seen the huge breeze blocks being laid and built up.  I have watched the piping going in.  I have watched the insulation being added, before the outer bricks were layered up.

 

I have watched it all.

 

In the same way, I think that when God is working in our hearts, He has this same vantage point: He can see over the 'walls' and watches every little change and development that is going.

 

But sometimes we - and others - can't see past the walls.  We don't have the bird's eye view that God does.

 

So we have to trust that He is doing what He says He will do.

 

We have to trust Paul's words to the church in Thessalonica:

"The One who called you is completely dependable.  If he said it, he’ll do it!"

 

[1 Thessalonians 5:24 MSG]

 

We might not always be able to see what is going on, in the restoration work of our hearts, but we can always trust the One who is overseeing that work.

 

 

 

 

Fitting The Pieces Together

I don't particularly enjoy jigsaw puzzles.  I don't have the patience.

 

I find it endlessly frustrating to pick up a piece, try it in all the available spaces, rotate it in every possible way, and finally put it back down to begin the process again with a different piece.

 

If I had someone on hand to try out all of the pieces and tell me where to put them in, that could work.

 

Sometimes life can feel a bit like this - we spend a lot of time trying to work out where and how we fit in.

 

We try ourselves out in different places and different spaces.  We squeeze ourselves and rotate ourselves and try to find where we belong.

 

I often like to think of myself - and hope other people see me - as a jigsaw piece with four sticky-out bits (is there a technical word for them?!  Knobbles?)  I have plenty to offer.  I like to be needed.  I like to help. 

 

I am not so comfortable with being the sort of jigsaw piece which has gaps and holes.  I'd rather people didn't see my weaknesses, my vulnerabilities.  I'd rather not 'need' other people.

 

But God is showing me how true connection, real relationship, comes from acknowledging these weaknesses and vulnerabilities.  It comes from exposing and accepting the fact that I am not self-sufficient.  I need other people.

 

The Bible talks about this needing each other, and describes the way that God is fitting us all together:

 

"He’s using us all — irrespective of how we got here — in what he is building.  He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation.  Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together.  We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home."

 

[Ephesians 2:20-22 MSG] 

 

The thing with jigsaw pieces is that not one of them is four sides of edge.  They all need something else to complete them.  And it's the same with us.  We are not complete on our own. 

We all strengths and weaknesses.  We all have powers and vulnerabilities.  And we all need each other.


 

 

 

Levelling The Ground

I thought the building work opposite my flat had come to a bit of a stand-still when I glanced out of the window earlier.  I couldn't see any builders and there was no obvious work going on.

 

However I soon realised that, whilst things near my flat have stopped, the builders have been focusing their attention on the opposite end of the building site.  The building site is on a hill and the ground is much lower at the opposite end. 

 

Whilst they have stopped work at my end (or have slowed down at least), they have been working frantically at the opposite end to make the ground level.  They have built the foundations up by about 10 feet, so that the flats will be level.

 

I have written a lot about building and construction work lately and about the need to have firm foundations. 

 

Sometimes that means levelling the ground - sanding down the bits that are too tall and building up the bits that are lacking.  Sometimes we have uneven ground and we need to fill in the gaps before we can start building.

 

The Bible talks about making the ground level -

 

      "Every valley shall be raised up,
      every mountain and hill made low;
      the rough ground shall become level,
      the rugged places a plain."

 

      [Isaiah 40:4 NIV]

 

I feel that I have needed to raise up lots of valleys and make a lot of rough ground level recently, so that I can start building again.  But I can't do it myself.  I need God to be my builder. 

 

 

 

 

 

Considerate Construction

I noticed this morning that there is a new sign on the building site opposite my flat: "Considerate Constructors".

 

According to the poster, their aim is to 'Improve the image of construction.'

 

I'm not quite sure what that will look like in practice [perhaps  fewer builder's bums around?]

 

However, the phrase 'Considerate Constructor' reminded me of this passage in Isaiah:

 

       "As a young man marries a young woman,
       so will your Builder marry you;

       as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
       so will your God rejoice over you."

 

       [Isaiah 62:5 NIV]

 

Isaiah compares God to a builder, to a constructor.  He describes how God's relationship with His people - with Israel - is not just of a husband and a wife, but of a builder who is lovingly restoring His people.

 

God is in the business of construction.  Construction and reconstruction.

 

However, whilst He is in the construction business, God is a considerate and compassionate and courteous builder.  He doesn't knock things down or bulldoze them or raze them to the ground and leave them.

 

He gently and patiently and lovingly restores us.

 

He is our Considerate Constructor.

 

 

 

Under Construction

The car park opposite my flat is being turned into a block of flats. 

 

It has been boarded up for months, but with my first-floor view, I could see what was going on: nothing much.  It is only in the last month that the boards have come down and work has begun.

 

The ground has been dug up over the past few days and just today, I have noticed that the first foundations have been laid.

 

I am amazed by how quickly the work is being done, now that they have started.

 

It reminded me of the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls, as retold in the book of Nehemiah:

"Then I gave them my report: 'Face it: we’re in a bad way here. Jerusalem is a wreck; its gates are burned up.  Come—let’s build the wall of Jerusalem and not live with this disgrace any longer.' [...]  They said, 'We’re with you.  Let’s get started.'  They rolled up their sleeves, ready for the good work."

 

[Nehemiah 2:17-18 MSG]

 

As we read the story of Nehemiah, we see that the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem was a collaborative endeavour.  Each section was rebuilt by a different person - all of whom are named in the book - each one adding something to the wall.

 

I imagine that the walls of Jerusalem could have been rebuilt by just one person, but the work would have taken forever.  It would have been easy to become discouraged and fed up and to feel that there was no point in continuing.  But with a group of people each working on different areas, the work was completed much faster. 

 

What's more, the workers could encourage and support each other:

"We kept at it, repairing and rebuilding the wall. The whole wall was soon joined together and halfway to its intended height because the people had a heart for the work."

 

[Nehemiah 4:6 MSG]

 

In the same way, we need others around us to help with our 'reconstruction' work: we can try it on our own, but we will soon become discouraged and frustrated and disillusioned.  With other people around us, supporting and encouraging us, we will find that we can get the work done much faster and much more effectively.

 

We are all 'under construction' and we all need people around us who will encourage us when we feel like giving up, who will build when we are tired and who will remind us of the goal - the finished building - when all we can see is rubble.