Building Strong Churches with Weak Bricks

In Mexico one year, my friend, Phil, and I were cutting cement blocks for the church we were helping to build. It was hot. We ached all over from lugging heavy bricks and buckets and tools. We were absolutely filthy from the cement "sawdust" that swirled around us and stuck to our sweaty clothes and bodies, making us look a bit like living statues. Ahh, good times.

Anyway, most bricks cut just fine. But, there were some that, before we even cut them, we could tell that they were apt to just crumble. In fact, there were some we would pick up with one hand, and the brick would fall apart under its own weight.

But, we used every brick. Each was a valuable commodity, and there was no room for waste on the job site. The ones we could tell were weak we cut gently and mortared into the walls along with the stronger bricks. Even, the bricks that fell apart were still useful, either by using the broken pieces as filler or using the larger chunks for odd sections of walls (around pipes, doorways, windows, etc.).

At one point, I asked Phil, "So, can you preach a lesson on 'Building Strong Churches with Weak Bricks'?"

I could tell it got his mental wheels turning. I never heard the sermon, if he did it. I assume it would have been along the lines of the bricks representing Christians, and God is the mortar that gives us stability, purpose, strength, community, form, etc. Even though some bricks are weak, they find their strength and purpose when they are mortared into a wall of other bricks, and the whole being stronger than the weakest brick (as opposed to the "weakest link" comparison), etc. The symbolism is pretty clear, and could probably be expanded quite a bit.

I know I'm a weak brick. So, it's reassuring that, as a weak brick, that I have a purpose that can be realized when I am integrated with my brothers and sisters and connected to them by the love of God.

What Does God Need With a Star Ship?

In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, the star ship Enterprise traveled to a place that was supposedly Heaven. There, they met a being who claimed to be God. This “God” demanded that the landing party give him the star ship Enterprise so that he could leave that place. (The being didn't explain why he would want to leave Heaven, but oh well.) Kirk politely challenged “God” by asking, “What does God need with a star ship?” Well, for that, he earned himself a jolt of lightning to the chest which he, of course, survived. Spock seconded the question and was also zapped with lightning from “God.”

The scene was intended to out this entity as being something other than God. After all, God wouldn't need a spaceship to escape from Heaven. But, it does bring up some interesting questions and ideas when it comes to rendering unto God.

If we can ask, “What does God need with a star ship?” couldn't we also ask, “What does God need with cash?” (Can we ask that without fearing a jolt of lightning?) We often include, “…as we give back to God a portion of what He has given to us,” in our offering prayers. So, clearly, our intended recipient of these funds…is God. As such, we might ask during the collection of the offering what God needs with money, and the obvious answer is that he does not need our money.

The Old Testament folks may have asked, “What does God need with an ox?” “What does God need with a burning goat?” “What does God need with a sheaf of wheat?” “What does God need with Abraham’s son Isaac killed on an altar?”

A broader perspective is required, I think. We can’t just “follow the money” in this case. Instead, we must follow the heart. Though the church receives our cash, God receives his portion, too. He receives our obedience; our faith and trust; and, our love for the church and for others.

Cain learned that an improper offering garnered no respect or favor from God. So, if God has no use for burned-up goats and wheat and oxen, if he has no need for cash or star ships, but doesn't respect us if we don’t offer up these things, then the conclusion must be that God simply wants us to give an offering that He (not we) finds acceptable. The thing we offer to God is useless to God per se, and yet it is very significant.

So, what does God want from us? What do you get for the the guy who has everything?

What God wants from us is our obedience, our faith and our love, and the offering of our possessions demonstrates that obedience, faith and love for God and for his church. We can't demonstrate those attributes of our faith with paltry offerings, or with offerings of our "budget leftovers."

So, maybe God does need a star ship. He doesn't need it for transportation purposes, but for demonstration purposes. He needs it as a demonstration of our obedience, faith and love. (If God were born on Earth, he would have been born in Missouri...the "Show-me" state, where Willard Vandiver declared, "...frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.") And, to come full-circle, the catchy phrase, "...as we give back to God a portion of what he has given us," is also probably very apropos. God has demonstrated his faithfulness and love for us immeasurably. When we give back to Him in obedience, faith and love, it is truly a portion of what he has given us.

Ichthys

I always wanted to put one of those Christian fish symbols (ichthys) on my car. But, I wanted to put it on my dashboard where I would see it. I figured it would be more useful as a reminder to me of who I am when I'm cut off in traffic by a maniac than as a sign announcing to the drivers behind me, "Christian on Board."  After all, shouldn't my driving habits tell people around me that I'm a Christian without them having to look for a little plastic fish on my bumper?

So, I'm going to study on (and try to put into practice) this idea of demonstrating my relationship with God to those around me, not because they deserve it, but because I don't either.

DIY and Tying the Temptation to the Exodus

Aaron Walling preached a sermon in March 2012 at Cinco Ranch Church of Christ. The lesson talked about Americans' DIY nature, and our desire to fix things ourselves and to secure our futures in our accumulated wealth rather than relying the daily sustenance by faith through God's grace.

These are my thoughts on the lesson.

DIY

We Americans have a DIY nature that can be in conflict with our reliance on God's creative, life-giving word. We try to be strong and solve our own problems like stress and sin; relying on someone else is a sign of weakness, after all, right?

But, God chooses the weakest and meekest to exhibit His strength (Gideon's army, David v. Goliath, even fish & loaves). By doing so, He makes plain the fact that we aren't doing it ourselves, but that He is doing these things through us.

Tying the temptation to the exodus

We could really go from the stones-to-bread temptation to the manna from heaven and then to the Lord's Prayer. "Give us this day our daily bread" ties back to the manna, too, I think. God gave the Israelites one day's rations every day. He did not allow them to stockpile any of it. In this way, He forced them to rely solely on Him. They couldn't ever say, "I don't need God tomorrow. I saved up enough manna to carry me through a couple of days." In this and many other ways, God was training them--forcing them--to go to Him for everything every day.

Now, when we jump to the Lord's Prayer, Jesus says that our prayer should include, "Give us this day our daily bread." I think it means more than, "God, please give me what I need every day." I think it could mean more: "God, don't give me more than I need today because I don't want to be tempted to depend on my surplus tomorrow. I want to depend only on you every day, and having stores of provisions may 'lead me into temptation'."

If that's the case, it makes looking at accumulated wealth as something that could be a risk rather than necessarily a blessing. Do we count on our bank accounts? Do we rely on our retirement plans? Do we put our trust in our pensions? Is our faith in our 401K? Is our assurance found in our insurance?

I read that owning things is okay, as long as you're not owned by them. You can accumulate wealth as long is your focus isn't on the wealth, but on God. Abraham proved to God that what he loved the most, even more than his own dear son, was God. Therefore, he was blessed by God and ultimately owned many things, but was not owned by those things. They didn't have control of him.

So, this was a really good look at Faith and the Word of God.