Demolition Derby

Many of you who drive up and down Mechanicsville Turnpike each day probably noticed the demolition last week of a stately old two-story brick house that stood on the property right next to the church. Perhaps you had a certain amount of nostalgia or sentiment as that elegant piece of the past was removed to make way for the future “progress” of another new self-storage unit complex. We all have too much stuff. Maybe you thought as I did, “It’s a shame to see a house that seems so nice, even beautiful, to have to be destroyed.” Now, I’m not one for chaining myself to a tree to prevent bulldozing. In fact I am a pretty ardent capitalist! Personal property is just that- property that belongs to its owner- and he can use it however he feels best! Still, it seemed kind of wasteful to bring down a historic house - one that had stood like a sentinel along “the pike” for so many years. At least it did… until I got a look inside.

You see, when the heavy equipment began to bring the house down, the outer walls collapsed revealing what lay inside. The interior of the house was trashed! Vandals and squatters had destroyed things inside, spray-painting vile and obscene words on the walls. One upstairs interior wall bore a twelve foot wide graffiti-scrawled mural which depicted a man throwing a cross into a trash can. Beneath this was written an angry caption: “NO GOD!” I am not sure if this meant, “There is no God!” or if it was a voice of rebellion directed at God speaking a furiously negative answer to God’s offer of salvation: “No, God!” Either way, it was a slap in the face to a God who gave His Son to us. The image of the cross being thrown away will stay with me for a long time, causing me to ponder many things.

I first began to chew on the old saw: “You can’t judge a book, (house or man) by its cover.” I do not really know what is going on inside the house next door or the man standing beside me. What came next were lots of scriptures that seemed to apply, so here’s a short sermon preached by a house that was pretty on the outside but ugly on the inside:

(1 Sam. 16:7) “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

(Ephesians 5:11-13) “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible.”

(John 3:19-2) “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

(Matthew 12:35-37) “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

(Luke 6:43-45) "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn-bushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

(Hebrews 4:13) “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

( 2 Corinthians 5:10) “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

And finally,

(Proverbs 4:23) “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Amen.