walls

I wish I had time for a long armchair reflection on this topic, but I don’t.

I was just thinking about the idea of recovering from a challenge and how it takes time to bounce back.

And as the cliche says, Rome was not built in a day and having self-compassion.

Even if that sounds like a therapeutic framework, which I’m skeptical of these therapeutic frameworks, but in any event, what came to mind was rebuilding the walls and rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and the prophet that went and got permission to do that.

And I would love to hear what the rabbis have to say about it, because I think that Christians should always consult the rabbinic tradition when looking at the Old Testament.

And if that’s not obvious, then, you know, think.

So suffice it to say, though, I was thinking about when Jesus said, destroy this temple and within three days I’ll raise it.

And I was thinking about the idea of, you know, kind of our early life, our own agendas, our own walls, and how those can be torn down by life and by difficulties and by metaphorical enemies, and then how Jesus can rebuild those walls.

And you could say that maybe sometimes Jesus can quickly rebuild, although, you know, setting aside obvious, you know, therapeutic realities obviously challenges require, in some cases, a lifetime of psychology and other types of interventions.

But you know, to get on the path, to get on the path with Jesus, we can do that.

We can say that we’re going to be co-crucified with Him.

That doesn’t take a long time to say yes to Jesus.

It does imply, though, a lifetime of struggle, and it doesn’t mean we’re always going to be in our A-game, and it doesn’t even mean that our A-game is defined as the way we think that A-game is defined.

And the main thing is we keep getting up, and we keep calling on God’s grace.

But I just thought that was an interesting metaphor to pull up the idea of our building our own walls, which can take 40 years, and how they can be destroyed, and how they can be raised again in three days through the power of Christ.

And if I were to take the metaphor even a little further, I might say that you can’t really expect the wall to be very high if you build it in three days.

But that goes back to the paradox of the cross.

There is strength in weakness.

So anyway, I don’t know if that helps, but it’s just something I was thinking about.

paradoxical or “reversal” passages from the New Testament that speak of joy in sorrow, strength in weakness, or life through loss

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Joy in Sorrow / Life in Death

• Matthew 5:11–12
  “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
• John 16:20
  “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”
• John 16:33
  “I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

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Strength in Weakness

• 2 Corinthians 12:9–10
  “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
• 2 Corinthians 4:8–10
  “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”

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Rejoicing in Suffering

• Romans 5:3–5
  “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.”
• James 1:2–4
  “Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
• 1 Peter 1:6–7
  “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
• 1 Peter 4:13
  “But rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”

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Losing to Gain / Dying to Live

• Matthew 16:24–25
  “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’”
• Philippians 3:8–9
  “Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”

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