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"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this temple
that is made with hands, and in three days I will
build another, not made with hands." Mark 14:58
Experiencing the spirit of ruined ancient churches
and abbeys is one of the bittersweet adventures of
exploring Great Britain. The
ruins are just that... ruins. But, they are
still impressive. In spite of the wreckage,
the commitment of the builders to do their best to
reflect the beautiful nature of God is apparent.
Their desire to build something of permanence and
beauty to honor God in Christ is clear. But, as
with all things human, the lack of permanence of
things temporal is evident.
So often, the ruins host sharp
contrasts.
There is the despair of collapsed
and weathered stone, soaring arches that no longer
support a roof, massive empty window frames, and
bowed stairways.
In contrast, God’s handiwork flourishes.
Beautiful oases of flowers take root within the
cracks of massive ruined blocks of stone. Grass
carpets the floors upon which worshippers no
longer walk. Amidst the ruins, God's life-signs
spring forth witnessing to the contrasts of
resurrection versus death, eternal versus
fleeting.
Would the builders of those ancient places of
worship lament if they were to see the state of
their creations? Perhaps for a bit. But they would
quickly see how their once beautiful structures
foster life in unforeseen ways. Or did they
foresee?
The intent
of the churchmen was not to build massive
planters. Their mission was to witness to the
glory of God in Christ, and to the promise
bestowed in His resurrection.
That mission has survived. The ruins are
visited by multitudes of people each year.
For
many of those people, the visit is inspirational.
The ruins, while no longer used for worship, stand
as a proclamation. And they witness to
substantially more people than they originally
served.
The work God has in store for each of us is great
mystery. We may toil and toil, thinking that the
toil is in vain, seeing no remarkable results for
our efforts. But for how many generations hence
will even the smallest act, perhaps something as
simple as a kind word offered to a suffering soul,
have impact?
Our congregations are not
about the buildings,
but rather how the buildings
are used. We will never see the full results of
our ministries. They will have unforeseen results
to the Glory of God in Christ.
Our work carried out
faithfully through our
congregations in response to
our commitment to Christ in our
Baptism is of eternal value. |
