I had the opportunity to go on a biking trip this past weekend in the hills of Western Md. Venturing out early to beat the heat, I meandered leisurely along the rail trail, snapping some new photos along the way. If you follow me and my musings on social media or my sermons, you will know that the Holy Spirit has an interesting way of getting my attention. My vision and hearing seem to be sharpened when I draw away from everything and everyone to the woods. So on this trip, I was able to re-discover the sights and smells along the trail. Upon the return trip to my car, there was a divine interruption. In a field alongside the trail I observed an old concrete foundation in the midsst of a harvested field. As this is a historic area, this is not unsual. However, I observed several things. The first thing I observed was that the foundation still stood, though it was in a state of disrepair. The next thing I observed was that there was a fairly young tree growing in the midst of the foundation. What’s so spectacular about that you ask? Well, apparently there is a lesson for us in this picture. Point one is this: Scripture tells us in 1 Cor. 3:11 that “…no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is [already] laid, which is Jesus Christ. We are further told in scripture that Jesus Christ alone is the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20; Acts 4:11 AMP).
The next thing that I observed is that the foundation was in disrepair and abandoned. This, now is a picture of the church. We have endured assaults by the enemy and many other things, not the least of which is the current assault of nationalism on the Christian faith. It appears as though we have been left abandoned. However this is not the case. We, like Nehemiah should weep and mourn and set in our hearts to rebuild the walls so that we the church should no more be a reproach(Neh. 2:17). We are never abandoned by our Savior. He promises that He will never leave of nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5 KJV)