Last year I gave myself the goal to read the entire Bible in one year. Seeing as how it's nearly February, I think it's safe to say that I didn't meet my deadline, but that still won't stop me from completing it! I'm down to Nehemiah and Revelation (yes, I know that's a pretty random order but don't worry about it).
One way that I like to absorb the word is to have it playing in the background while I do menial tasks such as cooking or folding laundry. This allows me to get some chores done while also being in the Word. It also gives my brain the chance to process the content differently. My brain is very visual, and yet sometimes I find that reading is not a good way for me to take in the full story as it unfolds. Reading allows me to pick up minute details and re-read the same sentence a few times over if it didn't make sense the first time, but it can also far too easily switch over to autopilot (kind of like when reading a textbook for school, let's be honest - in one eye and out the other). Anyways, I was listening to the first few chapters of Nehemiah while my pasta boiled, and then an unexpected connection hit me... The narrator had just launched into one of those trademark Old Testament lists of names and their sons and the sections of rebuilding they were responsible for, etc. Most of the time these lists are the spot where people tune out or skip ahead, but because I was multitasking it wasn't so hard to just listen to him go on and on in the background. That's when the unique thing about this particular list stood out to me: it was a summary of all the builders who were working together to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem after it had been destroyed by the Babylonians. Many of the exiles had returned to the land of their ancestors, and there had actually been multiple attempts at rebuilding already. Nehemiah came to the city with the blessing and resources of the king, and he began his work by inspiring the people to return to God and to His Word. Rebuilding the city was actually a task far greater than the Jews there were equipped to handle, yet their love for their land was more than enough to draw them all together to the task. Each priest, official, and man of means was assigned to rebuild the portion of the wall directly outside their own homes. The city walls were there to protect all occupants equally, but each individual section was done by that specific person who was closest to it (and his sons or servants). I guess this makes some sense logistically, but it also flies in the face of the way we normally approach a team project. There was no foreman or engineer handing out blueprints, nor were any of the necessary tools or materials supplied for them. In order for the project to work at all, there couldn't be a single flaw or inferior section, lest it be breached, rendering the rest of the wall ineffective. Everyone needed to trust each other to do their part of the work well, and I assume many of them ended up helping each other where help was needed. Not everyone can be a master builder or stone mason, so those who were the most able probably ended up helping those who were less able. It also stood out to me that each man was responsible for building up the area that protected his home and his family. It was his job to secure his own family's safety, which is why it was important for him to do the very best job he could. What better way to motivate excellence?! Yet his family's well being was also out of his hands because it relied on both the quality of his work and that of those to either side of him. As a community, we can sometimes become myopic in seeing only what's "our responsibility" and none other. We can also come to believe that we are safe because we already took care of our own problems. It can be hard to admit when my weakness is affecting those around me, but it's also deeply irresponsible of me to let that continue tearing others down without me taking steps to grow up in those places of immaturity. Or even if my sin isn't directly affecting you, maybe you're currently struggling with something I had to deal with in my past. My section of the wall may be tall and well fortified, but if I do nothing to help my neighbor who is struggling, then my fortune will only last for as long as we are both living in a time of peace. We need each other. And not in the sense that we need to be sticking our noses in each others' business to judge what type of righteousness is really the best - that's tearing another down, not building them up. Building up is done in love, with compassion and kindness. Building up is done by seeing where my surplus can be used to bless another who has a deficit, as well as having the humility to accept help from those who have something that I may need. This can be done both physically and spiritually. I've been blessed to live in a country of wealth and prosperity, and it's my honor to be able to financially support those I know working for the kingdom in much harder and poorer parts of the world. I can also help those in my own local community who do not have the same means and opportunity that I have. But building up doesn't just stop at physical needs. Maybe I'm really good at having faith for God's provision, while you're really good at prioritizing time to be with God every morning. Instead of feeling like we're failing because we're not both good at both things, we can help model our own healthy behaviors and encourage each other as we grow in spiritual maturity together. That way when troubles come, we will have spent time nurturing and building those healthy habits that may not have come naturally to us. We will also have developed trust in a friendship that we can lean on when times do get hard and that growth is put to the test. That's what the body of Christ is supposed to be about. It's something the Jews understood as they struggled to stay alive in a physically dangerous world, and it's something that we still need today in a world full of distraction and idolatry. We each have to be wholehearted in our own pursuit of righteousness, and we must also stand together in community so that our aggregate strength can become a shield around both the strong and the weak among us. That is how we will become stronger and healthier as a whole. That is how the Bride of Christ will be made to shine.
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March 2023
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