New Construction

When I was working in the shipyard for PCI, work was divided between "Repair" and "New Construction."  When many people come to Christ, they come to Him for repair.  They would be happy for their life to be smoother, easier, with promises of peace, joy, and fulfillment.  Before people trust in Christ, they spend their lives building upon the eroding sands of worldly philosophy from a secular vantage point.  A man without a relationship with God does what is right in his own eyes.  God never takes over a work in progress.  The old way of life must be completely discarded so the new may begin.  God does not repair the works of the flesh:  He makes new in the Spirit.

Imagine you have been  invited over to a friend's home for a housewarming party.  He excitedly shows you around the place, pointing out the expensive chandelier on the vaulted foyer, the state-of-the-art kitchen with all modern conveniences.  Your friend had spent his life savings on this home for himself and built it from the ground up.  But as you walk through, you notice a lot of structural problems.  Upon further examination you lift a rug and see that the house is built upon sand!  Cracks have already begun to form at the corners of the windows, and ridge of the roof has begun to sag, and walls are clearly out of plumb.  What would you say?  You know your friend has poured his life into this house, and built it with the sweat of his brow.  The house wasn't built properly without a solid foundation, and before long it will simply collapse.

All people without Christ are like those who have built a house without a foundation.  Regardless of the superficial beauty, the house would be condemned.  God is not interested in shoring up the condemned lives we've built to this point.  He wants to start completely fresh and new.  He will lay a new foundation of Christ, the Chief Cornerstone, that we are to build upon according to His plans.  We find God's "set of drawings" in scripture, and the Holy Spirit is the foreman who directs us in building after supplying all the material.

I'm seeing that this can happen in a Christian's life as well.  In California, people build what is commonly called a "California Room," a room addition that is often built without permits with the city.  As a follower of Christ, we can begin to build on a foundation other than the original foundation of Jesus Christ.  We can begin to follow preachers whose ministry is not founded in the Word of God.  We can follow after commentators who tickle our ears and provide no spiritual nourishment.  We can become side-tracked from building a structure on Christ and be more into building our two-story shed outside for our toys, our pet-doctrines we love to play with.

Now put yourself in the position of the friend who built a house from scratch without a foundation or someone who built his California Room or shed without authorization.  What if it was brought to your attention that you've been building without the foundation of Christ?  What if God told you that your whole life needs to be completely torn down and dismantled because He wants to start new?  God must tear down all the works of our flesh so He can sanctify us with His Spirit.  Would you be willing to have God raze your life down to the ground so you can start again, building by His set of plans?  The rich young ruler was not willing that God should ask him to give away his money, the thing he treasured most.  He went away sad, empty, and rich with money that perished with him.

It's your choice!  Sometimes only a moment, a day, or a month's work must be undone so God can do it right.  But other times, the whole house or room additions have to be destroyed.  Are you willing to ask God to inspect the foundation of your life?  If Christ is your eternal foundation, you will never fail.  But if you have built your life upon any other foundation, doctrine, tradition, denomination, motto, philosophy, or conviction other than Christ, it must be destroyed and all that is fixed to it.  Allow God to reveal to you as the Master Builder what you must do, and be obedient.  Your amount of loss will give room for more gain than you could ever imagine!