When One Stone is not Left Upon Another, What Comes Next?

            First, thank you to all who have helped those in need after last month’s tornados.  Thank you to those who have given time, who have given money and goods, and most importantly, who have prayed.  As the dust is settling, Pilger is making plans for what comes next. 

What comes next can be a scary question.  What comes next for those who were left with nothing, who are trying to rebuild? What comes next for us who were spared this time around? Will we be spared next time?  What comes next is a scary question because all we can do is make a grocery list of things we want and try our best, but sometimes the Lord has something else in mind.

What comes next when one stone is not left upon another, and everything’s been torn down?   Christians, you can answer this one.  You don’t have a crystal ball to look forward, but you have the Word of God.  You can look back.

            

           Look back.  You’ll see Jesus’ promise that the temple will be torn down, that there will not be one stone left upon another. You’ll see it come true as He was nailed to a cross for you, forgiving sin, healing hurt, and fixing everything that’s broken.  You’ll see 3 days pass, full of panic, doubt, and despair.  Then you’ll see the temple rebuilt.  Christ rose from the dead, chasing away doubt, turning despair into hope.  You’ll see that even in the midst of rubble, when there was not one stone left upon another, God was at work to save you.  Actually, He already has. It is finished. 

John 2:19-22   ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  ²⁰ The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?"  ²¹ But he was speaking about the temple of his body.  ²² When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

            What comes next is scary, but there’s comfort in what’s already happened.  The temple has already been rebuilt. Christ is risen from the dead, guaranteeing our own resurrection.  God brought back life out of rubble.  He has promised us that Heaven and earth will pass away, but the Word of the Lord will not pass away.  THAT is what sustains us in this time.  Be at peace.

God has not abandoned you, even as rubble lays around your feet.  He works in rubble to save.  Even now, in the midst of all of the pain and fear, God is still at work.  His Body and Blood are given to sinners asking “what comes next?” as an answer that rings loud and clear.  “May this eating and drinking of the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ strengthen you and preserve you, both in this life, and unto life everlasting. Amen.”