Tearing Down and Building Up

I recently went on a mission trip with a group of young adults.  At the end of a hard day of work, we gathered together and talked about the day’s events.  I asked the group if they saw anything that reflected Christ in the day’s activities. 

One young lady’s insightful reply really spoke to me.  She told us that our work of tearing down an old, unsafe porch and replacing it with a new, sturdy deck and ramp reminded her of our new life as Christians.  When we repented and turned to Christ, we left our old, broken lives and Christ builds in us a new, sturdy life.

To be honest, I was floored by such deep perception in such a young lady.  And yet, I shouldn’t have been surprised at all.  Although our young Christians may not have yet matured a great deal during their short spiritual journey, they also haven’t had time to develop scales on their spiritual eyes.  You may know those scales I’m talking about.  It’s the log in the eyes that Jesus spoke about, which can build up over time even in Christians if we focus too much on worldly things (or even churchy things) and not on Christ.

The young lady’s metaphor certainly hits the mark.  I would even take it one step further.  We consistently need to allow Christ to tear down those things in our lives that come from our sinful nature, and build up those things that honor God.