Under Construction

Genesis 11:1-4
11:1 The whole earth had a common language and a common vocabulary. 11:2 When the people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 11:3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” (They had brick instead of stone and tar instead of mortar.) 11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise we will be scattered across the face of the entire earth.” NetBible

The people devised a plan to make their own way. Seeking fame and security they began to fashion bricks for a tower that would reach into the heavens. Not only did they have a common language, but they shared a common desire to make a name for themselves. God intervened, confusing their language and scattering them: the very thing they sought to avoid. That confusion remains.

Though this story is from long ago, it speaks to us today. The tower of Babel is and always has been under construction. Everywhere we see men at work, making bricks out of the mud of self and attempting to create their own world. Like the tower of long ago, any efforts that deny God will not succeed. The tower will not stand.

There is another construction underway, one that will last and achieve what we all seek. Jesus said that He would rebuild the temple in three days. He has done just that. The new temple is built with you and I as the stones, not with the mud of human endeavor. Jesus himself is the cornerstone of this new temple which does bring us into heaven, into the kingdom of God. This is God’s doing, His grace and love at work.