Unless the Lord builds the house

DAILY BYTE

I mentioned earlier this week that my literal house-building experience has been very limited. That is certainly true where I have been the sole builder – my achievements being half a kennel and a postbox. As you can well imagine, I’m not holding my breath waiting to be nominated for the Master Builder of the Year award.

But I have had another significant experience where I was involved in a real house being built. I must stress that I wasn’t actually the builder. But together with others in a similar position to myself, I helped out in what was a truly remarkable event.

It happened through Habitat for Humanity, an organization that builds houses with the poor. Each year Habitat International organizes a week-long house-building event called The Jimmy Carter Work Project, in which literally thousands of volunteers from around the world converge to build as many houses as possible. In 2002 it was Durban’s turn, and I was fortunate to be one of the volunteers at the Ethembeni site in Sherwood where 100 houses would be built in 5 days.

It was my first time on a building site as a worker. I wasn’t sure what to expect, or even if I would have anything of value to offer, but straight away I was put to work. Over the next few days I had the time of my life mixing mortar, carrying blocks, hammering in nails, laying tiles – things that I never knew that I could do.

Working on our house were people from South Africa, Canada, the USA, the United Kingdom, Japan, the Philippines, Zambia & Mozambique. What an amazing thing, this diverse mix of people from around the world helping to build a house – and I was a part of it.

But there was something more amazing, because that house was just one of a hundred being built at that site that week. I remember standing on a roof truss hammering in a nail and looking out over a large section of the building site and seeing how dozens upon dozens of houses, like ours, had sprung up literally overnight. And I remember thinking – I’m a part of this.

But there was something even more amazing, because I learned that while Durban was the principal site for the 2002 Jimmy Carter Work Project, it wasn’t the only site. That in 17 other countries in Africa, this same scene was being replicated though admittedly on a smaller scale.

Lesotho, Botswana, Mozambique, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, the DRC, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, the Central African Republic, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia and Egypt. All in all 1000 houses being built for the poor in 18 different countries on our continent in 5 days. Something miraculous was happening, and in a small but real way I was a part of it.

That experience is something of a parable of what can happen when we dare to allow our lives to be gathered and built into something much bigger than just ourselves.

Earlier this week I asked the question, ‘What are you wanting to build with your life?’ But really the question should be, ‘What is God wanting to build, in which your life can be a part?’ So that through you, your children & grandchildren, your family & friends, your work & your church, your community and country might know what it means to live in the shelter of the Almighty.

Unless God builds the house, those who build it labour in vain.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Thank you, Lord God, for remarkable ministries like Habitat for Humanity, in which your passion for the healing and transformation for this world can be seen being expressed and established in concrete ways. We pray for such ministries, that they would be strengthened and encouraged to persevere in the good work that you have given them to do. And help all of us to recognise the unique part that we each can play, in our families, in our places of work or learning, in our churches & communities, that will see your kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING

Psalm 127:1-2

Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labour in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.
In vain you rise early and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for God grants sleep to those he loves.