Anticipation

I am a member of a young church.  This particular congregation has been meeting for only about a dozen years, and only now do we have a church building under construction.  I drive by the work site every day on my way home from work, and today they were putting the roof on the tower.  I was very excited to see it, particularly since the work has been on hold the past week or so due to bad weather.  

Our pastor was talking on Sunday about how he is getting used to the new tour guide role he takes on, showing people around the work-in-progress.  As I was thinking about the possibility of stopping for a tour today, I thought about what a strange tour it would be.  With most buildings, what is notable about them is the things that have happened inside, the history they have witnessed and the beauty that has been put into them.  But in this case, the points of interest are future events—here is where we will hold worship, here is where the children will meet for Sunday school, here is where we will store fourteen different crockpots before a church picnic.

It’s an odd difference, but also exciting.  Anything is possible, and that is physically visible now in the unpainted walls and the unfinished floors.  The whole building is a blank canvas onto which our community will be able to make our mark.

It’s also an excellent metaphor for faith.  It’s not the looking back that matters in religion, but looking forward to what good is to come, be it in this life or the next.  What we need to focus on is the future—what can be built and what can be changed for the better.  I can only hope that we can hold on to that thought once the building is no longer unfinished.