Explosive Grace…

I’ve been around construction in a variety of capacities for almost my entire life. From design to build to demolition, I have first hand knowledge of how things get put together to either stand tall or fall flat. Regrettably, this skill set is a dying art for many in this current generation. No where is this more evident than in the various religious camps who are being decimated by the message of grace.

Now I know trying to tie construction to religion is big stretch for many, however, Paul claims that he built, by the grace of God, a foundation which no other man can build upon, focused on Jesus Christ (1 Cor 3:10-14). These religious camps of all sorts find themselves in a massive remodeling project once they accept the reality of grace. As with any remodel, the first thing that has to occur is demolition, or what is more commonly called in religious circles, deconstruction.

If you’ve been around any construction workers plying their craft a couple of things that you’ll notice is that it is dirty, and it is often reflected in their language towards one another. Ripping things apart is strenuous and being polite while you’re trying to protect a fellow worker from being leveled by a falling timber or a ceiling of plaster is not a top priority. Grunts and groans will eventually lead to yelling and cussing; then add a schedule delay just to see how explosive personalities can become.

Deconstructing your beliefs is no different. There is a lot of yelling, screaming, cussing, throwing of things, ego-bending humiliation punctuated by red-eye, snot flowing bellowing. And these are on the good days! Mostly it’s just trying to hang onto your sanity with one hand while trying to secure your footing with the other. At the end of the day your mantra of “Is this worth it?” will not be answered. You will persevere though – you have no other place to go – since there are so many watching you to see if you’ll make it. You will.

I’ve been down this path a number of times, and honestly, it doesn’t get any easier. (I’m traversing it right now.) I’ve just learned to allow the process to run its course. I’ve helped many others navigate through the shoals of discontent towards the peaceful waters of discovery. All I can say is that no two people are the same in how they handle the change of a paradigm. Keeping that in mind, let me offer this piece of advice which is fundamental to deconstructing everything. Deconstruction is all about getting to the foundation and this is where all of your work stops.

What got you to where you are? Not the mess, the starting point, the first flirting glance of a supremely, divine romance? This is your foundation. This is what you’re revealing by pulling away the crap of white-washed tombs applied by idle hands bent on containment.

I’ve had people tell me that they’ve lost their faith. This is a good thing! It’s not your faith after all, it’s His. I’ve had far too many confess how they doubt if they’ll ever believe in God again. It’s hard to accept the death of our idols! God still believes in you. There are those who express dismay in not feeling able or even wanting to pray anymore. Great! God has been waiting a long time for you to shut up, so He can finally talk to you. And He will in ways you never thought possible. And then there is the bible…well, there are some things you’ll have to work out on your own, so for now, the lesson is learning how to let it reside on the shelf or coffee table as a book and not as a severed appendage to your arm.

Grace blows the hell out of people minds, their church and friends, their creeds and dogmas. It causes every question to flood into the impact crater of our discontentment and permeates the air with the sickly-sweet aroma of burning prideful flesh. There is nothing like the smell of grace in the morning…almost as good a hot coffee and doughnuts. Deconstruct that!