“Early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.” [1]
In the movie Forrest Gump, one scene pictures Forrest and Jenny walking down a dirt road. Childhood friends, both of them are now grown. The movie presents Jenny as having lived a hard life which was marked by sex, drugs, and living as a rock-and-roll groupie. Now, she is beginning to retreat from her self-destructive lifestyle. As they are walking down this road they come to the shack where Jenny had lived as a little girl. As Jenny walks toward the shack her face registers confusion, hatred, anger. She reaches down, picking up rock after rock and zinging them toward the house. Rocks hit, flecking off some of the paint which is already peeling. At last she picks up another rock, throwing it as hard as she can. This time the rock crashes through a window which is already broken. She throws so many rocks, flinging them with such rage that she at last exhausts herself and falls to the ground. Forrest watches silently, before walking up to drop down beside her and to say, “Sometimes, I guess there just aren't enough rocks.”
It seems apparent that what Forrest meant is that Jenny could have thrown rocks all day and never taken that house to the ground. Forrest would pay to demolish that old shack after Jenny’s death. I think Forrest also meant that she could have thrown rocks all day and she would never demolish the abuse she had known as a child; she would never demolish the effects of that abuse in her life. She could have thrown rocks all day and never, ever brought her torment, her agony, her misery, her anguish to an end.
What was true for Jenny is true for us. You and I can throw rocks and stones at situations and relationships from the past and present, and it will never relieve our agony. Rocks will never assuage our misery; rocks will never lessen our anguish; they will never erase our torment. The rocks represent words and hurts experienced now and in the past.
For some who share our worship, or who are reading the message, the source of your misery is rooted in the present as well as the past. We are each aware of marriages and relationships where the primary means of communication is rock throwing; and such people often have real good aim. They know just what to say to cause misery; they know just what to do to cause torment. At the extreme the rock becomes a knife or a bullet.
You and I know of growing and grown children who know just what to say and just what to do to cause pain and misery for their fathers and mothers. Accusations and actions are rocks that are aimed at parents in order to cause the most pain and misery. The message is, “I'm going to do just what I want to do and I am going to live just like I want to live.” Because of these rocks thrown without regard to the impact they will have, both parties are bloodied and bruised.
Just as we know children who are good at throwing rocks, you and I also know parents who are adept with words calculated to cause the most harm in their children. Neglect is one of the worst rocks that can be flung, and neglect has had long-lasting consequences for those who have been hit with this rock. Favouritism can be another effective rock to injure and destroy. Guilt is yet another of those rocks that parents seem often to use in order to drive their children to do what the parent wants.
The use of rocks to inflict pain, to destroy another, is not restricted to families. Unfortunately, I suppose that we each know employees and employers that know just what to say or to do to cause pain and misery. Some employers seem non-plussed at the rapid turnover of those who are employed by them. They seem oblivious to the impact of the rocks they throw, though it is apparent to those who have been hit by those rocks.
Tragically, we are all too familiar with churches and pastors who have gotten into this rock-throwing contest. There are pastors who browbeat their congregations, and they can’t explain why the church doesn’t grow. Church boards are notorious for beating pastors. The deacons, or the elders, or the tyrants that masquerade as church leaders, keep a tight rein on those who shepherd the flock. They aren’t certain why they are unable to keep a pastor for long; but they know that can can’t relax the strangle-hold on those who stand behind the sacred desk. And some congregations are just mean! They don’t want the Spirit of God to have freedom to work. They are in control, by golly, and they aren’t about to allow any movement outside of the channels they have chosen.
There is a story that is found in the Bible that presents a family that is remarkably similar to many modern-day dysfunctional families. Perhaps we should realise that dysfunction is not a product of this age; rather, dysfunction has marked families since the introduction of sin into the world. The proud and joyful parents in this particular dysfunctional family were named Isaac and Rebekah. Study the story with me in order that together we might discover something about what pleases God. Let’s study the story so that we may see ourselves reflected, both in our relationship in the home and in our relationship to one another as a people of God within the Body of Christ.
THE NATURAL USE OF ROCKS — There are plenty of rocks available to people, and we bring many of these rocks, consciously or unconsciously, into the Body of Christ. Among the rocks which are prominent for our use or misuse are such stones as Competition, Conspiracy, Favouritism, and Greed. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list; it is, however, representative of some of the rocks that seem to appear with startling frequency among the churches of our Lord. I want to invest some time with you thinking about these rocks so that when someone begins to fling them about, we can dodge them and maybe even stop that person from throwing them at others.
A couple of chapters prior to this twenty-eighth chapter of Genesis, we can find the account of the birth of the twin boys—Esau and Jacob. The birth of a child is a special occasion, and I suppose the birth of twins is even more exciting for us. Isaac, the father of these boys, had married later in life. In fact, Isaac was forty years of age when he at last married. I don’t know if he worried that he would never be married, but he did at last marry a lovely woman. The marriage was arranged through the intervention of his father, Abraham. After marriage, Isaac was grieved to discover that Rebekah, his wife, was barren. Today, we might consult an obstetrician or a fertility specialist, and having determined who was at fault, we would endeavour to correct what we see as God’s error.
It was quite different in that less enlightened age, however. There were no specialists, nor was there the common knowledge of reproductive biology such as we enjoy today. Because Isaac and Rebekah were so ignorant, they went to God. The Word of God says that “Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren” [GENESIS 25:21a]. Childlessness was a serious enough issue that Isaac sought the Lord’s intervention, and “the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived” [GENESIS 25:21b]. Unlike our modern response, these simple people consulted the Creator first. Perhaps we could learn something from their humble response. I am not disparaging consulting medical experts in this day, but I cannot help but wonder if we would not be better served were we to first consult the Great Physician? I wonder if we are the poorer for our failure to call first on God?
I am compelled to take a moment to note an important issue which is neglected, perhaps even resented, by many modern couples. The Bible makes abundantly clear that children are a gift from the gracious hand of God. Barrenness was considered a mark of divine displeasure among people of the Bible. They weren’t absolutely correct in that view, but there was some reason to believe this.
We cannot begin to imagine the sorrow Rebekah felt because she was childless. Compounding the natural sense of emptiness in the home was this thought of lack of fulfilment as a woman. Rebekah understood that her role was to be a mother; her career was to be the happy mother of children. Not so in this day. The more wealth we accumulate, the greater our acquisition of “stuff,” the less encouragement to be parents and to discover the true wealth which God offers.
In the biblical account the children were born. Isaac and Rebekah were doubly joyous because Rebekah birthed twins. The first son to breech the womb was carefully noted, for he would receive the birthright of a firstborn son. At some point, the boys were observed to be exceptionally different, and the parents began to show favouritism. The first boy, Esau, would be the heir to the family fortune. The second boy born was named Jacob. They were not identical twins; in fact they were very, very different. Esau was the athlete. He liked to hunt, fish, and play sports. In elementary school he brought home all the first-place ribbons. He was the fastest runner, the best at all the sports. Isaac was proud of that Esau. Isaac would turn to the other parents and say, “That's my boy.” Esau was the type of man that other men liked and with whom they could relate.
Jacob was different. Esau ran; Jacob read. Esau won ribbons; Jacob designed them. Esau was first on the track; Jacob was first on the test. Esau would bring animals home for food; Jacob would bring animals home for pets. Esau was Sylvester Stallone; and Jacob was Woody Allen. But Rebekah was so proud of Jacob. He was the star in all the church plays, and Rebekah would be heard to say, “That's my boy.”
In this dysfunctional family the rocks flew. There was COMPETITION of an unhealthy sort between these two brothers. Throughout life, they struggled with one another for supremacy. Esau assumed the right of primogeniture and exuded a sort of paternalistic aura. Jacob, on the other hand, received his name because of his actions from the womb. When he was born, his hand was grasping his brother’s heel. “Jacob” means “he grasps the heel,” which would be understood by those who heard his name to mean “he deceives.” Jacob is characterised throughout his life as devious, as cunning and subtle. There was an air about him which would cause others to distrust him. This competition between brothers served to divide instead of strengthen.
Most of us realise that there is a healthy competition which pushes one to excel. This is that sense of following the example of a stronger individual. This healthy competition speaks of that striving for excellence for the sake of the greater body. This is that competition which motivates excellence because of love for the family or because of love for the assembly. Those who are competitive for the sake of family name or for the sake of the Name of Christ are engaged in healthy competition. Those who are competitive as a means of urging others on to greater heights for their own good are engaged in healthy competition. We encourage healthy competition because it is selfless; it builds the greater body; it is honourable.
However, competition that seeks to injure another or which endeavours to destroy another, is unhealthy in the extreme. Such a rock as unhealthy competition will surely destroy and hurt. When unhealthy competition, competition that seeks only to promote one’s own interest, is tolerated, it must result in injury to others. No conscientious person can take pride in the individual striving to excel in order to promote their own interest.
CONSPIRACY, also, was a rock which was flung about within this family. Instead of openness, the boys were motivated to win at any cost, even at the cost of destroying relationships. Rebekah and Jacob conspired together to deny Esau the inheritance. Rebekah suggested that Jacob, the actor, play the part of Esau on that pivotal day when Isaac was going to make the decision about the inheritance. They both feared that they would get scant inheritance because Isaac loved Esau. The talented actor gave an Oscar-winning performance in his role as “Esau, The Hunter.” The blessing and inheritance were his! Despite God’s promise delivered as a prophecy [see GENESIS 25:23], Rebekah and Jacob sought to secure the inheritance by taking matters into their own hands.
Within the Church of Christ the Lord are pastors, appointed by God to oversee the flock and charged with the responsibility to give an accounting of their ministry before Him. Not all pastors are willing to oppose illicit power-mongering, and with the passage of time, it is altogether too common to witness a leadership vacuum.
That leadership vacuum will most often be filled by individuals lacking spiritual credentials for the task. They assume the role of oversight of the church more by default than by design. The majority of Christians are not in the least interested in assuming responsibility for the health of the congregation, much less to direct that congregation into growth. Thus, the unappointed power broker gradually assumes authority which is unrelated to appointment and unrecognised by the Lord. Once they have ascended to a position of power, these illicit church bosses see their function as maintaining what is in place. Seldom do they have a vision for the future. “If it worked forty years ago, it’s good enough for today” is the creed for their ardent opposition to all change or to divine leadership. COME WEAL OR COME WOE, OUR STATUS IS QUO seems to be their motto.
When confronted by a man of God operating legitimately in his divinely appointed role as the pastor, these power-brokers are frequently exposed as cowards. They cannot bring themselves to openly oppose what they see to be a threat to the status quo. Thus, they resort to intrigue and conspiracy. Garnering support through secret meetings and criticisms piously delivered behind the mask of vague complaints they attack the man of God. They foment distrust and destruction by attacking God’s appointed leaders. They accomplish their nefarious ends through statements prefaced by phrases such as “Some people say…” or “I heard…” Cowards that they are, they deserve a cowards fate [cf. REVELATION 21:8].
FAVOURITISM is a third stone that may be used to destroy and hurt, and this stone is often flung about without thought of the damage it can cause. In the story before us, it is clear that each parent had a favourite child: Isaac loved Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob. Instead of uniting the boys, the favouritism from the parents served to divide.
Children learn quickly to live up to the expectations of others, or to live down to the expectations others hold concerning them. The lessons learned in childhood too often mark us throughout life. What I mean is this: the child labelled by a teacher as “dumb” enters a lifelong struggle to overcome the past. The child labelled as “lazy” or “stupid” by a parent will ever after be compelled to struggle up a tall mountain just to overcome that thoughtless label. Conversely, the child promoted as “brilliant” or as “athletic” obtains an advantage before ever a test is administered.
Among the faithful such favouritism contaminates and injures the people of God. We would do well to recall the words of James, the brother of our Lord in this context. “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there,’ or, ‘Sit down at my feet,’ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonoured the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honourable name by which you were called?
“If you really fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgement is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgement” [JAMES 2:1-13]!
We can show favouritism toward people, toward the commands of God, toward the practise of the Faith, but we do so at peril to our spiritual health as the people of God. We need to be certain that if we are showing such favouritism that our actions are of God. Clearly we ought to love one another deeply from the heart. This puts the burden on us to ensure that some, whom we think less desirable to be called our friends, must be esteemed. We must go out of our way to ensure that no one feels excluded because we are showing favouritism. Those we deem less desirable as colleagues or less desirable as members of the Body of Christ, must be shown the same courtesy and respect as those we esteem because of economic, occupational, or physical criteria. You understand that at stake is nothing less than the health of the Body of Christ.
We must esteem others on the basis of relationship to Christ instead of valuing one another by artificial criteria. Indeed, we must learn that “God shows no partiality” [ROMANS 2:11]. We are responsible to watch our conduct so that we don’t favour one person over another, but that we rather treat each with respect as brothers in Christ.
GREED is yet another rock which Jacob used to destroy family relationships. Greed is a rock which modern Christians yet employ to great hurt. Clearly, the blessing of his father was of great worth to Jacob. His father’s blessing was so valued that it became the most important goal of his life. It would cost him his family, his relationship to his brother, esteem in the eyes of his father—but he must have that blessing. You see, among other benefits, the blessing meant that he would inherit the majority of his father’s possessions. Thus motivated by greed, he rejected confidence in God with the result that he would be compelled to flee to a foreign land where he would remain for decades.
“Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, ‘Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!’ (Therefore his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, ‘Sell me your birthright now.’ Esau said, ‘I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?’ Jacob said, ‘Swear to me now.’ So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright [GENESIS 25:29-34].
It is true that Esau despised his birthright; but Jacob, motivated by greed, stole the birthright. Don’t let the obvious sin blind you to the obscure. God does not include this story to somehow pardon Jacob, but instead He seeks to fully inform us of events. I’m not exonerating Esau for rejection of that which was promised. He despised his spiritual blessing, just as he despised his material blessing. However, we must not neglect the fact that Jacob did not trust God to fulfil His Word; moreover, Jacob was motivated by greed.
Isaac grew old and his eyesight failed. The day approached when he would give Esau his blessing, the blessing which was his birthright. Sending his favoured son to hunt some game which was to be prepared in the way the old man loved to eat it, he promised that upon eating the stew he would bless his son.
Rebekah overheard the conversation, and together with Jacob conspired to steal the blessing. She prepared a stew made with goat, the spices masking the fact that it was domestic and not wild, and Jacob acted the part of Esau. He dressed the part, wearing his brother’s clothing and cloaking his arm with goat hair so his father would be deceived. Isaac was deceived and delivered his blessing to Jacob.
“Then his father Isaac said to him, ‘Come near and kiss me, my son.’ So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said,
‘See, the smell of my son
is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed!
May God give you of the dew of heaven
and of the fatness of the earth
and plenty of grain and wine.
Let peoples serve you,
and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
and blessed be everyone who blesses you!’”
[GENESIS 27:26-29]
When Esau found out about this deception, however, he let it be known that he and his gang was going to take Jacob out. So Rebekah and Isaac decided that Jacob had better leave the country and go live with his uncle. Even this decision was the result of manipulation on the part of Rebekah with collusion on the part of Jacob. Conspiracy and competition still marked his life after he had obtained what he thought he wanted.
These four rocks are abundantly evident in the life of Jacob, but I have said nothing about rocks such as rage, mistrust, complacency, nonchalance, bitterness and a myriad of other rocks which marked the life of Esau. No doubt these same emotions marred the life of Jacob to greater or lesser extent, but time precludes focusing further on the various rocks we can identify for throwing. It is enough to say that our emotions can mar and scar our lives as we submit to them and as we permit them to rule over us. Families are destroyed, relationships are distorted, and even churches are ruined because Christians operate in the realm of emotion instead of ruling over those same emotions.
THE GODLY USE OF ROCKS — Just as rocks can hurt and destroy when used in the inappropriate manner those same rocks can be used to build and to bless. Jacob was a deceiver. He was a charlatan. He was a liar. He was a thief. He didn’t trust God. He had been raised by a father who thought he was less than a man and by a mother who was a manipulator. His brother wanted to kill him. There was no neutrality in this family. This was one rock-throwing family—father against mother; brother against brother.
While journeying to his uncle's home, Jacob stopped one night to rest. The trip would require many days, but the events that occurred on one special night are worthy of taking careful note. Jacob made himself as comfortable as possible and fell asleep. As part of his preparation for sleep that night, he lay down with his head on a rock for his pillow. As he slept that night, he had a dream. It isn’t necessary to describe the dream because you likely know what it was; however, the message that was delivered in this dream is of utmost importance.
In this dream the LORD said, “I will not leave you.” Now, that is a promise! Think about that! The LORD said, “I will not leave you.” Though Jacob wasn’t perfect, he made a beginning toward becoming a builder instead of being a destroyer. The LORD intervened to encourage Jacob, and there was little in his life to make anyone think that he deserved any blessing from God. However, that is true of us as well. There is nothing in our life to make God love us; and yet, God does love us. We’re forced to confess, as did the Apostle, “I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out” [ROMANS 7:18].
And what a great lesson is revealed for those of us who are great rock throwers. No matter how much we are hurt and no matter how much we hurt others, the Lord tells us that He can change us—He can enable us to stop throwing rocks and to begin building with those same rocks. Let me tell you how.
Jacob decided that this was a very special place. Having little money and no one else to help, he did all he could do—he gathered stones and rocks and erected an altar. He called the place Bethel—“House of God.” Instead of throwing rocks, he built an altar. Instead of destruction, he constructed a house of God. He had so much to learn about God and living life; but this was assuredly a step in the right direction. Jacob decided that God would be a player in his life. He decided that God would have some influence in his life and in his work, in his family and in his relationships.
The COMPETITION, the CONSPIRACY, the FAVOURITISM, the GREED and whatever other rocks which have been flung about within our lives heretofore can either destroy us or they can become the means by which we begin to worship. The COMPETITIVE SPIRIT surrendered to Christ can spur others on toward love and good works [cf. HEBREWS 10:24]. The CONSPIRACIES can be transformed into thoughtful planning which unites and builds when given to the Lord. The FAVOURITISM can encourage the weak when focused on them for the glory of the Son of God. Our GREED can be transformed into generosity through His glorious power.
The rocks you have used to protect yourself can continue to hurt and destroy. Surrendered to the use of the Living God, those same rocks can build and strengthen. Pick any individual sharing this service this morning, and I can guarantee that within the life of that individual, there is enough hurt and pain, enough grief and sorrow, enough cause for bitterness and malice, to destroy a thousand lives. As we give in to our anger, our wrath, our suffering and our rage, we will try to protect ourselves through flinging rocks. Or we can use those same rocks to glorify Christ as Lord.
Let’s think about how we can use rocks constructively. Jacob used the rocks lying near the place where he had slept to build an altar. Before that altar, he would call on the Name of the Living God. And he would return to that altar again and again, bringing his family with him on the subsequent visits to the House of God.
After Jacob had married, (acquiring another wife that he hadn’t planned to marry), and after he had fathered a large family requiring his support, and after he had acquired the ability to support that family, Jacob received a visit from the LORD. The angel of God, that mysterious individual who moves throughout the pages of the Old Testament to fulfil the will of the Lord GOD, appeared to remind this once wayward man what really mattered. The account is found in the thirty-first chapter of Genesis.
Jacob recounts a stunning encounter he had with this divine being. Jacob says, “The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred’” [GENESIS 31:11-13].
This angel, presenting Himself to Jacob as the Lord GOD, the God Who had revealed Himself to Jacob years before when Jacob built an altar at Bethel, now tells the deceitful man to go back to Bethel. Jacob had made a vow, and God reminded him of that vow. “Go back where you built the altar with the stones you found in that place. I will meet you there, and I will tell you what you are to do.”
Speaking directly to Christians who are listening to my words today, I remind you, there is a place where you first met God. There, you first began to use the rocks that you held to build an altar, and you began to worship. Your pilgrimage is not over. The God Whom you met at an earlier time calls you to complete your journey. You have not yet completed the entire journey. There are people, perhaps even people in this very congregation, whom you have hurt. You used the rocks that you found to throw at them, perhaps injuring them, whether by design or through carelessness. You gave no thought to the impact those rocks would have when they hit. The point is that people who have been hurt through your actions need to be healed. You have the responsibility to be the one to minister to those dear souls, binding up the wounds you inflicted.
I counsel the people of God to invest time in discovering how to build, how to strengthen, how to comfort and console, rather than doing what comes naturally. We have spent enough time in the past doing what dishonours God. Now, it is time to begin to act with supernatural power to change how we act in this world. It is not too late for the grandfather who has been overly harsh to begin to affirm, to begin to encourage. It is not too late for the grandmother with the caustic tongue to consider how to use that tongue to build. Fathers and mothers who perhaps without thinking, have destroyed their children through manipulation, through discouraging their exploration as they were finding their place in the world, can even now admit their unwise actions and ask forgiveness of their children. And children who have learned to manipulate their parents can begin the process of unlearning. It is time to begin to do what honours God.
In the Household of Faith, we can stop being divisive, stop attempting to make others dance as we pull the strings, stop thinking that our crass manipulation of the assembly honours God. We can determine that we will build through strengthening the weak, that we will comfort those who are grieving, that we will encourage those who are growing discouraged. We can determine that we will invite the Spirit of God to control our thoughts and our actions, that we will allow Him to formulate our plans and then work through us to carry out the divine will of our God.
USE YOUR ROCKS WISELY — I’m speaking to Christians, to people who follow the Risen Son of God. To such people, my counsel is that each one determine to use rocks wisely. Each of us has any number of rocks available; and each of us has used these rocks to injure others in the past. Perhaps the injury we inflicted was inadvertent, or perhaps it was deliberate, whatever the case, we threw our rocks and hurt others.
There is a great lesson for each of us in the message today. We can continue as we’ve been trained by time and circumstances to act, we can continue throwing our rocks, or we can find a better way, a way that honours the Lord who saved us. If you’ve listened to what I’ve said in this message, you know that I’m urging you to choose the better way. Take the emotion, take the anguish, take the misery, take the hatred that has been used in the past to injure others and build an altar with those negative facets of life. Then, having built an altar, devote that altar to God—seek His glory.
Let the Living God deal with those situations and relationships that have wounded you so deeply. Let the Risen Saviour deal with those situations, with those relationships that have bruised you. Let the Lord deal with your pain. Which would you rather marked your life, a field of rocks, or a series of altars? I know for myself I prefer a series of altars. I prefer to be known as one who worships the Living God.
At home, instead of throwing rocks, I counsel you to build an altar, and every time you want to throw rocks, take that emotion to the Lord and add it to your altar. At work, instead of throwing rocks, build an altar; every time you are tempted to throw rocks at a co-worker or a boss, take those rocks to the altar. In your mind just take the rock, place it on the altar, and let God do what is necessary to build rather than destroy. At church, instead of throwing rocks at a parishioner or the pastor, build an altar. Soon all the places where you live will have altars, and God will be glorified in your life.
Perhaps you will ask, “What about the abuse from the past?” Instead of throwing rocks I counsel you to surrender the past to God. Take that dreadful rock to an altar and place the stone there. Soon the rock-throwing stops and the relationship with God begins.
I could dwell on the injuries I received when my own mother chose to desert her children. Instead, I choose to use the pain to drive me to serve others, seeking to lift them from the miasma of morose that still marks far too many lives. I could brood over the injuries inflicted on me and on my family from multiple professing Christians in churches over the years of my service. Instead, I choose to invest my life among the faithful, instructing them in the message of the God Who gives peace and strengthens the weak as He gives rest to the weary. This is what I encourage you to do.
When we do this, the places in our lives that were once haunts populated with frightful apparitions are emptied of abuse. After you have taken the appropriate steps, what may look like an office will be transformed because you will have built an altar there. You will be able to testify that the office is the house of God; and in the house of God we don't throw stones, we build altars. You will say, “To others, this may look like a dwelling place for my family, but it is not. It has become the house of God, and in the house of God we don't throw stones, we build altars.” Soon, you will testify to those coming into your workspace, “This may look like a workbench to you, but it is not. It has become the house of God, and in the house of God we don’t throw stones, we build altars.” And each of us will unite to testify to all who will hear, “This may look like a church building to you, but it is not. It is the house of God, and in the house of God we don't throw stones, we build altars.”
We can continue to dwell in the bitterness of our world, a world that has left the worship of God for the worship of politics, a world that no longer holds the Living God as supreme even as that world attempts to write new myths that transmogrifies political entities into saviours, or we can return to the God who redeems us, the God Who loves us. We can permit this Living God to take away the pain of the past, ushering us into the present, or we can continue living in the past. Here is the truth—you can throw that rock you’re holding, or you can build an altar. Which will it be? I choose to build altars. What about you?
[*] I am indebted to David N. Clay, Pastor of Ocean View Baptist Church of Norfolk, Virginia for the title and the subject matter of this message. I’m unable to find the original citation beyond the author.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
