Ecclesiastes 3:3
Both recent arrivals in our area, Sara and I met in an adult Sunday School class. We were married in that same church.
Some years ago, the congregation decided to remodel in a big way. They tore down the entire building and built a new one.
The demolition was swift. Within an hour, the classroom where we first laid eyes on each other and the sanctuary where we looked each other in the eyes and said our vows were both gone.
It took two years to construct the new building.
As we learn so often in our society, it is swift and easy to tear things down and hard to build things back up, including people, including relationships. Owners of a Dallas food truck business learned this recently. Mistaken for another food truck accused of unethical behavior, the owners saw their five-star rating sink to three stars within a day as angry strangers worldwide posted fake, negative reviews. The food truck's survival teeters as the owners try to rebuild customer confidence; luckily, cooler heads are prevailing and helping to rebuild their business.
In Ecclesiastes 3:3 (NIV), Solomon observes that there is:
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
We've witnessed killing and tearing down; who will heal and build? Perhaps the person in the mirror?
If you're a careful follower of Jesus's teachings, you know that he strongly advocated for loving everyone you encounter (Matthew 22:39), for treating others with the same love and care you would give yourself (Matthew 7:12), for healing broken relationships (Matthew 5:23-24), and for loving even your enemies (Matthew 5:43-47), specifically because it is hard to do.
More and more, it seems to me, that it is time to heal and to build, even in the midst of constant mutilation and destruction around us. Will we follow Jesus's teachings, do the hard things, and lead the way?
We lack the vision Jesus shared of loving unity among his followers. I describe that vision in the last chapter of my new book, "From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone: How Jesus Urges Us to Take Leaps of Faith for His Kingdom." You can find the book at Store.CecilTaylorMinistries.com or on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online booksellers.