What kind of building do we want?
Every day we’re asking four questions about part of the Bible. Today Bern Leckie answers:
What did I like about today’s passage?
I have lived in cities all my life and I thought I’d seen a lot of building. But I’m so amazed at the amount which gets built, taken down and rebuilt in Chronicles, right up to the end.
In one way, it’s a story set up in 1 Chronicles about one, big, significant building – a temple at God’s inspiration, using God’s stuff, so that people could meet in God’s presence, worship, sacrifice, right wrongs and enjoy a God-centred life. What’s not to love there?
What surprises me about 2 Chronicles is how quickly and furiously some leaders and many people at large rush into building alternative ways to worship their own gods, or the gods of other cultures which promise desirable things but can’t deliver because they are not God. Even Manasseh, the son of legendary, God-fearing Hezekiah, went straight into building stuff which got in the way between people and God.
Do we know why? I’m not sure that is clear in these stories. Pride is mentioned in some people’s downfall; greed, short-sightedness and self-centredness probably played roles too. A word which is often used is “evil”, a label we normally reserve for the worst of the worst, irredeemable monsters of history. That makes Manasseh’s story even more interesting.
I love how he shows that evil can be stopped, turned around, dealt with and forgiven. It may have taken much pain before his heart sought God, but God responded, and I love that Manasseh’s response was a massive change in the building plan. But I would suggest that as helpful as his rebuilding was, God’s rebuilding of his life and faith was even more important.
I think Chronicles overall shows two kinds of leaders engaged with two kinds of building, and we get to choose what we want for ourselves too. We can be like the DIY despots, wanting to build everything our own way, or we can be like the humble servant leaders, wanting God to use us to build what he wants. This is the only kind of building that lasts. Do we want it?
What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?
God persists in his kingdom building plan despite people’s resistance and determination to go their own way instead. God keeps meeting and responding to people who turn back to him, whatever their past, and gives them the power to build new lives as well as new things.
God also recognises how things can get between us and him, and he wants us to remove anything which promises power but can’t deliver it.
What am I going to do differently as a result?
As I spend time with Jesus in John’s Gospel, I’m going to look out for his words about building and the differences between our ways and God’s way. Early on, he talked about the temple as something which would be torn down and raised up in three days, and we know he meant his life. I want God to build my life on Jesus’ foundation and be rid of anything getting in the way. I’m looking forward to what he can do with me and my family in 2021.
Who am I going to share this with?
My family and others we follow Jesus with.