Bring the House Down


Of all the pictures online,
this was as close as I
could find to what I saw.

The house was early 18th century, beautiful and majestic. The craftsmanship was outstanding. Every board fitted perfectly without cracks or gaps anywhere. It was a 2-story house with the first story having 20 ft. ceilings and chandeliers in every room. The staircase was spiral and still didn’t creak as we climbed it. The foundation was extremely solid even though it was ‘pier and beam’. The windows, tall and demanding, were still perfectly square and impressed us with the feeling that they were eyes looking out from the oldest citizen in the country. This house was alive.

"Tear it down." had been the order. "It is no longer needed. It has become more of a hindrance than a help. Completely destroy it." The words echoed through my spirit as I stood gazing at this awesome structure. Beside me was my Mother, her pastor and assistant pastor, as well as several members from the church that I attend (several members of more than one congregation). We agreed that there was a-lot of beauty here that we could use and that we would be careful not to break the boards or any of the amenities.

As we began to work, we soon discovered that the structure was jointed together and that we could not remove a single board without it splintering. There wasn’t enough room between the boards to insert a pry bar of any size. Inside and out, the walls were covered with a ‘tongue and grove’ type lumber. The studs were so solid that they refused to yield to our tugging and prying. This was going to be a chore like no other that I had ever tackled. The only way to tear this house down was to ‘completely destroy it’.

The order was so confusing, why should we tear this house down? It was the most beautiful and well built structure I had ever seen. There must be something that it could be used for if only to remind us of our past but, the order was clear and precise. "It is no longer needed. It has become more of a hindrance than a help. Completely destroy it."

As I struggled with my task, I pondered the command to ‘bring it down’. I soon became aware that this old house represented the traditional church, each section carefully fitted together with love and pain. Built on a strong foundation but turned into a thing of beauty for anyone looking at it. This is what we have created and called it "The House of the Lord". A place of exceptional beauty but, not a place that would be inviting to the down-cast and broken. This house had the ambiance of a plantation’s Main-house where the lonely and hurting would feel guilty if they even considered using anything other than the back door.

Jesus told us to "go out into the highways and byways and compel the lost to come in" but, this is not a house where they would be comfortable. It has become "more of a hindrance than a help". Our traditions have removed the Spirit of God and replaced Him with all the luxuries of easy street. A place to go to see and be seen by our peers. Holiness has been replaced by culture and the Fear of the Lord has been replaced by listlessness. What we have done with grace is an abhorrence.

Jesus gave His life so that we would receive grace and we have learned to use it like a blanket. We behave in whatever profane manner we choose and wrap grace around us like a cloak so that we appear holy. We sport the ‘Law’ when we deem it necessary and hide behind grace to justify our own wicked ways. It’s no wonder that ‘this house must be completely destroyed’. We fit delicately into the mold of the Pharisees who approached Jesus in the 7th chapter of Mark to whom Jesus replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that."(NIV)

"Tear it down." has been the order. "It is no longer is needed. It has become more of a hindrance than a help. Completely destroy it."

Father, forgive us for the traditions we have taught as gospel. Forgive us for believing that we could build Your house and run it by our own schemes and devices. Forgive us for creating an atmosphere that is not welcoming to those who need You most. Forgive us for thinking that we are something that we are not, that we are better than the oppressed, poverty stricken people that You put in our paths daily. Forgive us for taking away the true meaning of Your Grace, for making it appear as though we are ‘holier’ than the beggar on the corner because we have worldly possessions and claim that prosperity is a ‘true sign’ of how righteous we are. Forgive us for causing the down-cast to feel as though there is no hope for them, that they are too dirty to be allowed to crawl under our ‘blanket of grace’.

a dream by
Claudina
July 28, 2002

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