I recently
had the honor of giving the prayer of dedication for the new Habitat for
Humanity ReStore in Troy. For those of you who may not know, the ReStore sells
building supplies, furniture, and decorative items that have been donated; and
the profit goes to the work of Habitat for Humanity. I was asked to offer the
prayer because our own Ralph Craig started the very first ReStore in Troy
(which was originally called Uncle Ralph’s ReStore in his honor). After the
official opening ceremonies were over, I strolled around the store looking at
the many kinds of supplies that are necessary to build a house. You need to have
materials to set a good, solid foundation before you even begin on the house
itself. Then you’ll want to build the walls, so you’ll need supplies like
lumber, drywall, and siding. You’ll probably want windows in those walls, so
you’ll have to get those. Finally, you’ll need roofing supplies so you can
cover the whole house. And if any of those things are missing, the whole
building project suffers.
It got me to
thinking that God has a house, too. I’m not talking about a physical church
building. I’m talking about the spiritual house that is embodied in the
community of any group of Christians. Our own congregation is one of God’s houses! Within that house is a church family that
laughs together, cries together, eats together, plays together, and plans
together just like any other family does. But that house isn’t built of lumber;
it’s built on the way that each one of us responds to the moving of God’s
Spirit in our hearts. And each one of us adds something to that spiritual house
to keep it in good shape.
Here’s what
I mean. Any house has a foundation, right? You can’t just build a house in a
field without giving it a good strong foundation. If you try to do that, it
won’t last too long. Our spiritual house needs a good foundation, too! Our
house is founded on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; and on
surrendering our lives to him. If that isn’t our foundation, then we aren’t the
church of Jesus Christ. We may be an organization that does great mission work,
or a friendly social club; but we’re not the church. You remember Jesus’
warning about building your house wisely. If we build it on the shifting sand
of fads and public opinion, it will fall down in short order! Instead, Jesus
said, build that house on the rock where it will withstand all kinds of storms!
There are people in every congregation who are moved by the Spirit to remind us
of that foundation. When we start getting sucked into some of the things that
our society does, they whack us on the head and remind us who – and whose – we
are. Now, we may not always appreciate that! But they are vital parts of any
congregation and I thank God for them!
A house has
to have walls, too. It’s very uncomfortable living on just a foundation. So we
have walls that holds the whole house up. The people who build those walls are
the folks who do the routine work of the church. They help with worship, they
take care of the bills, and they serve on ministry teams. They donate regularly
to help keep the church doors open, and they give to offerings that go towards
special needs such as disaster relief. They make salads, side dishes, and
desserts to carry-in meals; and some of them even look around to see what else
they can do! Without these folks, we would be a bunch of Christians standing on
a firm foundation, but we wouldn’t be much of a house where God can live.
Those walls
have windows in them. If we don’t have any windows, we have no way to see the
outside world. In our spiritual home that we build for God, the windows are the
people who look at the world around us and remind us of what’s out there. They’re
the folks whose hearts are moved to mission. Every time they read an article
about the opioid epidemic, or hear a news report about destruction caused by a
hurricane, or see a homeless man begging on the streets, they remind us that
Jesus wants us to do something about it! Without these saints, we are tempted
to sit back in our pews on Sunday morning and congratulate ourselves on how
holy we are. You know what Jesus said about that!
He condemned the praying Pharisee who thanked God that he was better than
everybody else! The people who help us see beyond our own walls keep us from
falling into that trap.
Finally,
every house has a roof. Without one, even the most well-constructed house will
be ruined very quickly. Our spiritual house has a roof, too: the people who
remind us to care for one another. Just like a roof protects a house, these
saints help us protect one another. Sometimes, they take a homemade casserole
to a family who is grieving a loss. Other times, it’s a greeting card that is
sent at just the right time. On rare occasions, it’s an envelope of cash
slipped quietly into a mailbox; and the recipient never knows where it came
from. But regardless of exactly what they do, they do it out of love for other
people in their spiritual family. They are the very best kind of roof!
So, now I
have a question for you to ponder: which kind of building material are you?
Where do you fit in to God’s spiritual house? Does the Spirit prod you to
remind others that we are not the Church of the shopping mall, or the Church of
a political party, or even the Church of the United States – we’re the Church
of Jesus Christ! If that’s on your heart, then you’re part of the foundation!
And thank God that you are! Does your heart burn with compassion when you see
others suffering? Do you look around and say, “Somebody ought to do something
about this!” Then you’re a window. You help the rest of us to take a good look
at what’s around us, and you keep us from focusing only on what’s right under
our noses. Thank God for you! Do you look around you and see needs right here
in our congregation? Do you say to yourself, “The church should always be ready
to help its own”? Then you’re part of the roof, that great cover that spreads
its protective umbrella over the people under it. You remind us that even
though the wider world has needs, we have needs right here, too. You show us
what’s right under our noses. Thank God for you! Are you always ready to help
on behalf of the church? Then you are part of the walls. You may be only one
brick, but you’re an important one! In fact, all of us need to be part of the
walls of God’s house, no matter how much or how little we may do. We’re all
necessary for God’s house to stand strong.
Take a
moment this week to listen to the Spirit moving in your heart and in your life.
What part of God’s house are you called to be right now? Whether you are a foundation, a window, a roof, or a
wall, God needs you! As Ephesians reminds us, we are all “being built together
to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (2:19-22). And that is
the very best kind of house that we could ever hope to build!
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