We Are Builders
A funeral taught me about the Christian legacy…
Why can’t we spell funeral without the word “fun?” Like seriously, some linguist messed up when they picked that spelling. At the same time, there is something about death that puts a magnifying glass on life. The veil that separates us from eternity grows thin. So, when I had to go to a funeral last week, it got me thinking.
The life we were celebrating was my great-aunt Barbara, and she was one of the biggest cheerleaders in my life. She never seemed to question if I could do this music dream; it was like she already believed it had happened.
My aunt’s hike to Heaven also reminded me of my Papal. Like I mentioned last week in the Story Behind the Song: Better Than Mine, my Papal was a huge part of my world. He passed away about four years ago now, and I still grieve for him often. I’ll never understand why my Lord allowed cancer to eat away at his body. But I’ve learned that the weight of grief helps the mind think deep, and the current thought blowing my mind is that they were builders.
Check out 1 Corinthians 3:9-11
“For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
I often hear the “body of Christ” analogy, but I’ve never thought about the “builders of Christ.” I love the permanence of that. If I only think about the church as a body, then in my worldly view, I see parts of the body dying and then being replaced by new cells to do the same work. But there isn’t just a replacement happening. There is a BUILDING happening.
The foundation is Jesus. Every single man and woman in the Bible helped build the ground floor. Peter poured concrete. Paul helped structure scaffolding. My Papal, who I love so dearly, painted walls. He built out of hard work and devotion. He built out of love for God’s Word and a zeal for life. My great-aunt built out of kindness and generosity. It’s like their lives were laying bricks, stacking up stones, strengthening walls.
And then their work is done. My God is like, “Okay, you can come home now, you’ve done your part.” And then the next Christian who trained under them steps up, sees the work they did, and can keep going. And this cycle has been happening since the very first church.
The work that the people I love did will echo to the end of the age. It will echo in the people with whom I share salt and light. It will reverberate out from those people to even more people! To my grandchildren. To their children. Maybe most important, it will echo in me.
Every true Christian is building and building and building. It’s a relay of construction! And the most mind-boggling thing is that we are even invited into the process to start with! This God who can speak light into existence allows His creation to participate in building something beautiful? Blows. My. Mind.
So yes, legacy comes with some loss. It comes with some heartbreak, but I’m learning it also comes with an invitation to pick up where they left off. To look at what they built and go higher. It’s realizing that the place you are now is the sum of the prayers from the past.
And that leads us to this one place:
Oh Jesus, a million thank you’s that for believers, not a single square inch of legacy is lost.
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