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Day 6
Then I said to them, "You
see the trouble we are in:
Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been
burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of
Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." I
also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king
had said to me. They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this
good work.
(Nehemiah
2:17-18)
Impossible!
It must have seemed that way at first to Nehemiah and his fellow
citizens. Rebuilding a couple of miles of walls, so
crumbled that there were places the animal that Nehemiah was riding on could
not get through, and lying in ruins for 140 years, without modern equipment,
and under the imminent threat of attack by enemies—it seemed like an
impossible task.
Impossible!
It might have seemed the same way to our ancestors 120 years ago,
when they undertook a $23,000 church from wages of men who were making $2
per day. It might have seemed the same a half century
ago, when they constructed a $381,000 school from people who were making
$1.75 per hour.
Impossible!
Today’s capital project may seem the same to us—who sometimes have
struggled to balance the church’s budget.
But do you
know how long it took Nehemiah and men to rebuild that entire wall?
20 years? 10? 5?
Surely a couple of years, anyway? No: 52 … days!
How long
did it take our ancestors to pay off our church and school?
I don’t know either, but it was probably quite awhile.
I’m sure glad they undertook the project! Else,
where would we worship? Where would many of the church’s
children (both in Saint Mark’s School & in Sunday School) learn of their
Savior?
Impossible—a right standing in God’s sight really looked that way for you
when you were born into the world. The product of maybe
250 generations of sinners, you were as wicked as any of them.
But the cleansing words of your adoption – “in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” – changed all of that for you.
Jesus washed away your sins in Holy Baptism. God
adopted you.
Won’t he
also likely accomplish the impossible again: for us, and through us?
Questions to Consider
1)
What
“impossible” situations in your life has Jesus seen you through?
2)
What amazing
things has the Spirit done in our church’s history?
3)
Is the Lord
using these to help you grasp your role in the present project?
Prayer
Jesus, Almighty Lord, You have accomplished the
impossible: my salvation! Make me confident to do
amazing things for You. Amen. |
