Building projects
supply instructive imageries to illustrate life’s important lessons. Imageries
use figurative language to make a point. As a classroom teacher, one of my
favorite instructional imageries supplied students with advice for construction
of their “life house.” For instance, we must build our life house using good
construction materials. Good diet and healthy exercise must be incorporated
into the building of our bodies. Wholesome reading materials help build our
moral and ethical “life house.”
Pastors often use
building imagery in their pulpit instruction. Recently our pastor concluded a
series on the Sermon on the Mount with the text of Matthew 7:24-28. In that
familiar passage the foundations of two homes were contrasted. One home was
built on a foundation of rock; the other was built on sand. Of course, the
success of the structures depended largely on the planning and choices of the
house builders with respect to their foundations.
Other building
imageries reminding us of the necessity of intelligent planning come to mind. During
my adult life I have been involved in the construction of three new personal
family dwellings. The first two were building projects joined “in progress.”
The home designs had been chosen by our builder before we entered into contract with him. We had only to select
various options for woodwork, flooring, colors, and other minor design features.
In contrast, our
most recent home building venture involved personal goals and prudent planning--selection
and purchase of a building lot, engagement of an architect, and hiring of a
building contractor. My wife’s insightful design concepts were particularly
manifest in the kitchen and other rooms where the woman’s touch produced
results approaching creative genius. Many other details of the building process
are chronicled and preserved in family lore.
We avoid taking credit
for our dwelling more than we deserve, even though our guests are informed that
the home’s basic design concepts and decorating schemes are our very own.
Our chosen professional designer deserves the lion’s share of credit for
producing the blueprints. Our builder and his sub-contractors executed the
actual production. In similar manner, the appearance of our children and the
perfection of their body systems is a gift from the Lord beyond our control.
Recent post topics
relate to the miracle of reproduction and the process of gestation. Details of
this story inspire awe and wonder. All involved--young people, prospective
parents, parents, grandparents, indeed, all of humanity--are invested in this
grand saga. When we understand the mind-boggling reality of the wonder of genetic
inheritance and the intricate process of reproduction, we tremble with awe. The
signature of God is manifest in multiple ways.
Building projects provide
lessons in integrated construction strategies. Quality building materials must
be selected. Construction materials must be utilized at the proper time and
place and in the appropriate manner. For an effective result, all factors must
operate in concert. Applying this imagery to human reproduction, the formation
of an embryo, its transition to a fetus and finally, the arrival of the birth
of a child are events which are coordinated precisely by the Creator. A home
building project demands intelligent human control. Likewise, the human body
building gestation process demands intelligent divine guidance during
pregnancy. For the most part the process is beyond the control of prospective
parents except to monitor the mother’s physical condition and reverently
preserve and care for the developing new life.
This tiny corner of
the universe has been bestowed with life by the Creator. So far as scientists
can tell, life’s existence occurs solely on our unique planet. Life has been
endowed with the capacity to reproduce itself. Man, the highest form of life,
is endowed with consciousness. We are enabled, therefore, to contemplate the
reality of life and its reproductive ability. Our enablement is one of God’s
multiple gifts to humanity created in God’s image.
