cathedral building

This morning I was spending some time with one of our young men.

He's recently been called to be minister up in MacDuff and he has some time between now and his starting date (mid-April) to prepare himself and his thinking for this new challenge in his life. There were a number of things he wanted to talk through with me and it was valuable to have some time with him - though I think we'll need some more!

The man whom he's succeeding there in MacDuff was there for nearly 40 years. I've known him well for the bulk of that time, since early in his ministry I was part of a mission team from my congregation which for three successive summers spent a couple of weeks up there.

Indeed, MacDuff was the place where I preached my very first sermon! So it holds a rather special place in my affections. And I'm thrilled to bits that this young man has now been called to minister there and carry forward the faithful, godly, and eminently fruitful ministry of his predecessor.

It's that sort of thing which the Lord delights to see. Not just sporadic, dramatic eruptions of life, but the steady flow, down through generations, of faithful Bible teaching, conversions to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the solid building of well-taught disciples who'll be able themselves to pass on that faith to the next fenerations as well.

A kind of dynasty of biblical faith. The sort of thing our land once knew.

That's the perspective I have. I'm in the thing for the long haul. I'm involved in something whose fruit, I trust, will stretch way beyond my lifetime, and down through many generations.

So the time with this young man today was truly well spent. We're preparing the next generation of preachers and pastors and leaders. We're seeking to build them up strong, to equip them for fruitful ministry.

There was encouragement, too, this evening, along those lines.

Another young family man (well, younger than myself, so he qualifies as young in my book!) crossing the line and coming to faith and entering the kingdom of Christ. What a sense there was of the rejoicing of the angels in heaven!

A dynasty of godly, Christian faith is only slowly built. Weeks and months and years of God's own work within the hearts of men like this in bringing him to faith. And weeks and months and years beyond as well in building and establishing him in Christ, in such a way that he in turn will be the means whereby long generations of believers will be raised.

You know the old story of the three stonemasons who were asked what they were doing (you can find it in the Rule of St Benedict)?

The first one said simply, I'm cutting stones and laying them side by side.

The second one saw more purpose in his daily tasks, and declared I'm building a wall.

The third man saw the thing in a much more long term way. I'm building a great cathedral, he said. It wouldn't be built in his lifetime. But he knew that he was part of something big and wonderful.

What am I doing day by day? I'm building that 'cathedral'. I'm involved in establishing in our land once again a dynasty of biblical faith.