After Deconstruction God Invites You to Rebuild

Every day as I drop my kids off to school I pass the empty lot that used to be the historic Archer House hotel. Where a preeminent fixture of Northfield once stood, now only concrete and patchy grass remain. In some ways it reminds me of where people may find themselves after leaving the formative faith or church of their past. When you are in the church, especially when you are young, it seems to have a permanence in the landscape of your life. Significant hurt from church leaders or seasoned believers you trusted can have a devastating impact that leaves that landscape desolate. For others, dismantling your faith might be more about a deep and often painful process of coming to terms with what you can no longer believe and who you can no longer believe those things with. 

While this process can be filled with a sense of loss, it doesn’t have to end there.  It can actually be a new beginning. When your former belief system does not hold, there is an opportunity to encounter God in ways you never have before. Reconnecting with God may involve separating what people have done in God’s name from who God really is. And it may mean not just believing in the existence of God, but discovering what God’s heart is for you in particular. My husband reminds me, “you are not God’s employee, you are a son or a daughter.” And in God’s family you are respected, honored and loved.

Jesus took on an oppressive religious group in his day whom he said, “crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.” (Matthew 23:4) In contrast Jesus says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-30) Jesus does not simply exchange one broken system with a new system of behavioral management.  Instead he gives his very life. And he offers that life to you—not as an abstract intellectual idea, but as a person with liberating power who can heal and restore your soul.

I hear there are blueprints being designed for a new building on the north end of Division Street. A devastating fire will not keep this town from rebuilding its architectural jewel. But it will be built upon a new foundation.

*article originally appeared in the Clergy Column of the Northfield News